


Pas De Deux

by eyrror



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: (Loki is a TA and he's younger than Thor even), (barely), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Light Bondage, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming, Slow Burn, Teacher-Student Relationship, Top Thor (Marvel), Versatile Loki (Marvel), Wrestling Team Captain Thor, ballet dancer loki, loki is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-07 16:21:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyrror/pseuds/eyrror
Summary: Wherein Loki is a rebellious ballet dancer who is always on the cusp of getting kicked off the team, and Thor is a Lawful Good Paladin of a wrestler who can't stop getting injured in his matches and has to take a freshman foundational stretching class with the same gorgeous ballerina he met at a bar his first day back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of inspiration to credit for this, a lot of which came from tumblr user andlatitude’s artwork and a song by Natalia Kills (“Trouble”). I also needed a good excuse to put Loki in a sock bun, which is inevitably coming. Also, the title is a term in ballet (Pas De Deux) meaning, "a dance for two." I will say that I am by no means an expert on ballet and did my damnedest to make this an authentic experience, at least for general consumers. I'm just out here for a good time and to write some porn. That has a little plot and the plot doesn't claim to be an accurate representation of either sport.
> 
> Lovely Inspiring Artwork by Andlatitude:  
> [(1)](http://andlatitude.tumblr.com/post/172299754814/i-cant-stop-please-do-not-re-post-to-other)   
> [(2)](http://andlatitude.tumblr.com/post/172023311129/au-sketches-while-i-learn-a-whole-new-drawing)  
> Inspiring Song: ["Problem" - Natalia Kills](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrZI6OmezE)

“That’s Loki, he’s...a problem child. Most of the time. At almost every opportunity he finds,” Tony whispers, nodding his head down the bar at the man Thor had just asked about. “I swear he finds new ways to get kicked off the ballet team and even newer ways to stay on each time I see him.”

 

“The guy does ballet, how dangerous can he get?” Thor chuckled, recognizing the heather gray leggings with ‘University of Asgard’ embossed on the hip while admiring how his hunter green sweater hung on his lithe body.

 

Almost as if he knew he was being spoken of, Loki looked over in Tony and Thor’s direction. Unamused emerald eyes looking right through Thor and all but piercing him through the gut. “Maybe you’re right…” 

 

“I always am, Point Break.” Tony smirked, opening his hands at the elbows as if to emphasize his point.

 

“Would you quit calling me—”

 

“Hello.” A voice slithered into Thor’s ear, arousingly close, daring the blonde to turn and catch his lips in the barely-crowded bar.

 

“Loki, how are you doing today?” The bartender grinned, pushing a gin and tonic on the counter with time to spare, the raven-haired man’s hand elegantly flicking up to grasp the drink as if it were the most precious resource in the Nine Realms. The whole interaction seemed surreal and too well-played out.

 

“Just fine. Do you have any idea why they invited the wrestling team to  _ our _ drinks night?” He groused, running a hand through his dark hair and taking a drink through a too-small straw, eyes shifting quickly from Thor to the bartender once more. 

 

“I don’t wrestle,” Tony quickly interjected. “I’m far too pretty for that. Gotta stay in the labs to do the important shit.” The brunette slowly trailed off, realizing that no one was laughing nor affirming his claims, as Thor was too busy gazing into back Loki’s head.

 

“We know, Tony,” the dancer rolled his eyes and sneered before waving a hand dismissively. “Too good for anything that would make you sweat.” 

 

“I’m not.” Thor attempted to interject some humor into the slowly intensifying conversation with a smile towards Loki, who had since retracted a couple steps. 

 

“Uhuh, we know, wrestling team.”

 

“I might be the best on the team, but I certainly don’t consist of the _ entire _ team. There’s also Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, Sif…” 

 

“And I ought to cut you off there, dear.” Loki casted a fake, sympathetic smile that all but said ‘Bless your heart.’ Thor looked back into his eyes, smiling genuinely and hoping this may soften the troublesome dancer, though he would be sorely disappointed. 

 

“You may be pretty, but you’re definitely using your body for the wrong sport,” The dancer briefly sucked on his bottom lip, letting it go with a pop. 

 

Completely ignoring the criticism, Thor stuck out his hand, “I’m Thor,” he offered.

 

Seeming to contemplate whether Thor was worthy of touching his hand, Loki hesitated and then placed his hand in Thor’s, surprised by its warmth. “Loki Laufeyson. Cheer captain.”

 

Thor quirked an eyebrow at this, confused. “I thought you were—”

 

“You think?” Loki teased, turning on his heel and leaving with his gin and tonic to accompany his friends on the ballet team. Clearly not the cheer squad. Thor is pretty sure he would have noticed Loki sooner if so, having gone to every football game at the University of Asgard.

 

“God, he’s great,” Thor mused, staring after Loki as he walked away.

 

“Thor, he barely said anything to you. And what he did say consisted solely of insults.”

 

“Yeah, I love it.” The blonde responded plainly, turning back to Tony and taking a drink of his long-neglected beer. “I have no idea why.”

 

“He’ll only hate you more when the rest of the team shows up,” Tony warned, watching Volstagg and Fandral walk into the bar.

 

As soon as they spotted Thor, Volstagg’s eyes lit up and he bellowed out Thor’s name, arms outstretched to give him a hug. With the redhead’s arms firmly around him, seeming to choke him on purpose, Thor snuck another glance at Loki, who had been looking in his direction. As soon as their eyes met, the dancer rolled his and turned away, barely giving Thor a chance to smile.

 

Tony was right.

 

~

 

Classes had finally started back up again, and Thor was staring down at his hand-written schedule, finding it difficult to parse and making him wonder if he scribbled it down drunk. 

 

“Where the hell is ‘Laufingson Hall’? I’ve been here for five years and who the fuck is that?” Thor muttered to himself, wishing he had put his schedule on his phone. Plugging it into his GPS, Thor found it was “Laufeyson Hall” and made his way to the first class of the year, a lower-level kinesiology course focused on foundational stretches.

 

Thor resented having to take this course in his last and hopefully final year of college, but his wrestling coach insisted he take it because he constantly kept pulling muscles and getting injured. However, when Thor sauntered in to the class, the bratty ballet dancer he had just become acquainted with stood near the professor.

 

The blonde wasn’t sure if he was blessed or cursed. Clearly Loki held some position of authority, or he was a teacher’s pet. He wasn’t sure which he would be more surprised about. 

 

“All right, if you’re not here for Kinesiology 130: The Basics of Foundational Exercises with Dr. Jones, then you’re in the wrong spot,” the professor announced. Thor realized he had still been standing on the edge of the doorway and looked up at the teacher, then back to Loki, who was giving him a look and gesturing for him to ‘sit down already.’ The wrestler took a seat in the front just to be cheeky, earning him a nearly unnoticeable sigh.   
  


“Today is not a syllabus day like your other classes. I don’t have a ton to say, but your TA, Loki Laufeyson, will be passing out your syllabi,” She says, passing the stack to Loki for dispersal. “If you have any burning questions, raise your hand and we’ll sail through them and get started on some basics.”

 

No one appeared to have any questions, so as soon as Loki had passed by each row to give them each a stack of syllabi, the professor began. “All right. Something to note is that we are never going to meet here again. We will be meeting in the Borson Gymnasium Complex next door. For those of you whom are familiar, we’ll send you straight to the strength-stretching room whereas the newbies will be with me getting a tour of the facility.” 

 

At this time, Loki butted in, “Raise your hand if you’re not familiar with the Borson Gymnasium Complex.” All hands except one go up. Feeling as though this couldn’t be right and some students had to have used the gym or at least not be first-years, Loki continued, “Raise your hand if you are.” Only Thor’s hand sheepishly rose.

 

“Let’s go, Odinson,” Loki waved him, and they walked in front of the rest of the class who trailed  behind with Dr. Jones, explaining the gym’s accommodations and history.

 

~

 

“You really are ridiculously bad at this,” Loki groused, his eyebrows furrowed in a manner that would convey pity, but in this case condescension, as he watched Thor attempt to stretch his tendons and calves by backing into the wall, and then taking one step forward, leaning on the further foot.

 

“Are you really supposed to berate your students?” Thor grinned, still struggling to hold his left ankle against the wall while bending his right knee for more than ten seconds without faltering. “God, this is so tedious.”

 

“You might think so, but it will actually improve your wrestling ability since you will be using gradual strength instead of just trying to throw someone abruptly,” the dancer admonished, using a yardstick to push the edge of Thor’s heel into the wall and keep it from lifting. 

 

As soon as Thor’s heel let up after about eleven seconds, the dancer smacked his calf with the yardstick and sighed, “Let me guess, your conditioning consists solely of deadlifting and other high intensity, low rep workouts?”

 

After wincing and immediately lifting up his foot, Thor looked up with a mock pout. “Yeah! How’d you know?” Thor’s face lit up at his work being recognized, but he’d soon find it was not for the reason he thought.

 

“Next,” Loki said, motioning for Thor to stand on one leg while taking the other and pulling his knee up, then pushing said leg back and holding it without touching the ground, all with arms extended for balance.

 

“And because you’re tight as shit and can’t do any basic strength exercises. No wonder your coach forced you to come to a freshman level course and relearn all the basics.” He almost sounded dumbfounded.

 

“Relearn? You must think pretty highly of me,” Thor joked and Loki just glared at him, “I’ve never done any of this stuff in my life.” 

 

“Gods, you’re hopeless. And you’re really the captain?” The dancer huffed, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disapproval, using his fingers to indicate Thor needed to turn around to face the wall and then emulated the pose Thor should be making for this particular stretch.

 

“The one and only.” The blonde proudly announced, one arm akimbo while the other pressed into the wall to begin the stretch, feeling like he was finally getting the hang of these leg exercises.

 

“Who is out almost every three games due to an injury,” Loki added. “All right, so all that was wrong. Do all of those over again.”

 

“But you didn’t even say—” And another smack was delivered to the calf whose heel was just barely lifting off the ground once more. “Hey!” Thor whined, reaching down to yank the yardstick towards him, causing Loki to stumble a step. 

 

The dancer immediately recoiled, dropping the yardstick and putting his hands out to catch himself against the wrestler’s arm, unintentionally feeling the firm muscle there and making his eyebrows shoot up.

 

“Impressed by high intensity, low reps now?” Thor teased with a toothy grin.

 

“You wish, wrestling team,” said with a breathless laugh and an eye roll.

 

“Odinson, remember? You knew my name immediately in class.”

 

“Only because I recognized the dorky Asgardian name on my roster from the bar,” Loki shrugged, making it out like it wasn’t a big deal and he definitely didn’t do any digging on the blonde giant. He was thankful Thor didn’t realize that he knew about his wrestling record. He’d just pawn it off on the fact Dr. Jones had warned him Thor had come to this class because of his injury record.

 

“Speaking of which, you’re way more approachable when you’ve got to teach me.”

 

“It’s not like I have a choice,” Loki almost spat, making Thor immediately regret pointing out how nice the ballet captain was being. “Class is over anyway, so I’m allowed to be a bitch again.”

 

“Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess?” Thor tried for a grin and flirt approach for the umpteenth time to try and melt the icy dancer and was only met with a blank stare.

 

“Charming. See you Wednesday, Thor,” Loki said and turned on his heel, grabbing his duffle bag with a change of clothes for ballet practice.

 

~

 

The next time he saw Loki, the football team was doing jello shots off of him in a homecoming party at Tony’s frat house. On a Tuesday night. The ballet dancer had the captain of the football team, one of his best friends, Steve Rogers, slurping a jello shot off of perfectly angular hips and lithe abs. Dumbfounded didn’t even begin to cover it.

 

Tony walked up to Thor and clapped him on the shoulder, “What did I tell you, man? He’s not the priss he’s cracked up to be on stage.”

 

The blonde watched Loki from afar, still unnoticed, watching him giggle with bright eyes and a wide smile and curl into himself. “Yeah…” Thor mused quietly. 

 

Thor walked over to Fandral with Tony trailing close behind, all of them catching up and talking about how their first week of classes had been going so far. Tony leans over to tell Fandral something that Thor doesn’t hear, and ends up making him look back at the blonde and laugh.

 

All of a sudden, there was another pat on his shoulder. This one sympathetic and it kept coming, “Thor, Thor, Thor…” Fandral sighed. “Always with the bad taste, huh?”

 

“What’re you talking about?” The blonde responded rather snippily, straightening up to look Fandral in the eye, but then seeing a whir of silky dark hair from the corner of his eye, attracting his attention. Loki was sitting up from the table and shaking loose glitter from the night’s earlier rave festivities from his hair, only to elegantly flick his body upwards, svelte abdomen bending as Loki reached his arms up to gather his hair into a messy top bun. Still entranced, Thor eyed the dancer’s toned arms and shoulders, finding it difficult to make himself look away and inspiring the thought that perhaps high reps, low intensity really was the way to go if it had Loki looking like that.

 

“Thor.  _ Thor _ . Muscle-head,” Fandral whined. “See, this is exactly what I was just talking about. He does this shit. He falls just like that,” the bearded blonde groaned, punctuating the last word with a snap of his fingers.

 

The snap, somehow, was what broke the wrestler’s trance, causing him to look back at Tony and Fandral and notice Natasha walking up beside Thor and resting an elbow on Tony shoulder and silently staring at the blonde next to her. No one spoke, making Thor shift uncomfortably as he was the sole center of attention. “Gods, what?”

 

“Just watching you crumble, wrestling team,” came a soft voice behind him. Thor looked over his shoulder to find the object of his affections sidling up to Natasha between him and her to touch her arm to warn of his presence and then hug her. “I didn’t know you were friends with the boy-wonder engineer, boy-wonder wrestler, and the...boy.” Loki arched a brow, his eyes stopping on Fandral, not knowing enough to mock him until his eyes dropped to the man’s shirt, which proudly proclaimed ‘University of Asgard Wrestling.’ 

 

The dancer rolled his eyes, “Oh, another one of you.” Which made Fandral frown and look at Thor as if to ask, ‘Really, you’re aiming for this asshole?’

 

“Natasha, I missed what Farbauti said yesterday. What did she want us to practice in preparation for our next rehearsal?” Loki queried, untying the green and black flannel he had been wearing around his waist and sliding it on, button by unfortunate button.

 

“I thought  _ you _ were listening,” Natasha furrowed her brows, frowning. Loki tilted his head, expression unchanging, as if he didn’t believe for a second Natasha wouldn’t listen to their ballet instructor. “Fine, fine. Pirouettes. Normal stuff. I guess she thinks we’ve been out of commission so long we forgot how to dance.”

 

“She does know we both perform in a ballet company during the summers together, right?”

 

“Of course she does, so practicing was aimed at the freshman and sophomores. Not us, probably.” Natasha added. “Not everything has to be about you, Loki.” She smiled wryly. It was bizarre to hear the dancer converse with someone so naturally. And in almost a friendly manner nonetheless.

 

“When’s your next performance?” Thor chimed in, genuinely interested in attending. 

 

“You’ve never shown interest in coming to any of my shows before, Thor. What gives? Because this one’s prettier?” The redhead jibed, angling a thumb lazily at the raven-haired man.

 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Tony cut in, meaning more to cut Loki down than build Natasha up.

 

“Just curious,” the wrestler cut back in, hoping to dilute whatever hostilities were brewing. 

 

“Curious,” Loki repeated, tilting his head inquisitively with a small smile pricking his lips like a vampire would a drop of blood. Thor couldn’t shake how dangerous, but gorgeous he looked, especially when the dancer had done a rather sloppy job buttoning the flannel back up, showing a quarter of his pale chest.

 

“I...of course.” Thor responded quietly, uncertain of the change in candor between him and Loki. “Always one for the higher arts!” He chuckled nervously, not knowing why all of a sudden he was made to feel uncomfortable in front of someone he wanted to charm.

 

“You only care about martial arts, Thor,” Fandral sniped, narrowing his eyes. Thor quickly used his hand to make a cutting motion at his neck to tell Fandral to quit talking when Loki had turned his head to face the short-haired blonde.

 

“Not so fast, I saw him watching me from across the room,” Loki tutted at Fandral, turning back to Thor and leaning in, “You may learn to appreciate the fruition granted by the instruction of my course. High reps, low intensity.” Loki’s eyes glistened in the dark room like gems that would quickly turn to dust and ruin if touched. A treasure Thor knew he could not take.

 

“I can be convinced,” Thor steeled his nerves and smirked back, unconsciously leaning toward the dancer.

 

In the background of Thor’s vision, barely even apparent to him, Fandral was mouthing the words ‘my  _ course _ ?’ incredulously at Thor and the rest of the gang. At this, Natasha made a motion for the rest of them to leave the two alone, which Fandral hesitated at, dearly wishing to cockblock his friend from this clear menace to friendship and society alike. Tony happily turned on his heel with a smirk in Thor’s direction, but neither Thor or Loki paid any mind, still seeming to be eye fucking each other.

 

“You smell incredible,” Thor mused, immediately realizing he’d said this aloud.

 

“Someone ate a tequila sunrise shot a little too sloppily off of my neck,” Loki snorted. “It’s not that deep.”

 

“Oh, I see,” the wrestler responded, rubbing his neck in uncharacteristic shame and embarrassment. “Sorry about that.” And he meant it genuinely. It sounded uncomfortable.

 

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. You ought to try it sometime.” Whether Loki meant being eaten off of or eating off of him, Thor didn’t know, but all he needed to do was swallow and nod and the dancer knew he’d caught him. 

 

“All right, enough fun and violating propriety for now. I ought to go,” Loki shrugged, looking down and buttoning up two more buttons in an attempt to look a little more put together. “We’ve got class bright and early, don’t we?”

 

“Shit. Yeah. Well, I’ll see you there, Loki.” Thor’s charm was immediately dismantled at the grave thought he might have to leave and go to sleep without enjoying the company of his friends (and teaching assistant, acquaintance, love interest?) more.

 

“Wish I didn’t have to, Thor. Bye.” And he was gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I appreciate that, thank you.”  
> “That’s what your coach pays me for,” the ballerina snorted. “That and to be friends with you.”  
> “We’re friends?” Thor’s face could have put the sun to shame if you slapped it in the middle of the universe.  
> Though he was smiling, if only a little, he still countered Thor’s question with a stoic “It’s not that deep.” When Loki had long left, Thor realized he forgot to ask when Loki’s next performance was again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer that I don't know shit about ballet and am doing my darn best. Enjoy. 
> 
> Also we've got some smut with a very healthy side of exposition.

 

Even though he was pretty sure it was Loki’s plan all along once he noticed Thor at the party, Thor refused to admit that he definitely went home and jacked off till he was raw over Loki just staring him in the damn eyes. He felt both invigorated and pathetic. Thor had never been one for limerence. Or, at least, according to himself he never was. Ask Fandral and clearly the answer would be different, but that was mostly because he was almost obnoxiously protective of his friendship with Thor. Still, Thor knew Fandral would never actually jeopardize a romantic relationship of his. If that’s what this was going to be. He was constantly confused by this unruly, sarcastic ballerina. 

 

Walking to the Borson Gymnasium Complex with ten minutes to spare before class, Thor walked up to the Smoothie Bar with the intent of getting a breakfast that would not upset his queasy, hungover stomach. He settled with something with little acid, a peanut butter and banana protein shake. 

 

“Need to pregame with protein for some simple stretches, wrestling team?” Loki’s voice seemed to appear out of thin air behind him, as always. He wondered if this was a sign. He hoped it was.

 

“I couldn’t even stomach breakfast this morning, so if I yak on your pretty shoes today, you’ll have to forgive me,” Thor sighed, rubbing an eye tiredly and looking at Loki, who appeared to have gotten a full day’s rest. Somehow, he looked fresh as a daisy. Or better, some kind of poisonous flower. Fresh as a lily of the valley. Loki fashioned a pair of deep emerald green leggings with a loose black muscle shirt, tied together by white Adidas. 

 

“Yikes, not the ‘hello’ I was looking for,” Loki tried not to laugh and instead stifled it by smiling with tight lips, adjusting the straps of his tank top and pushing them down his back in mock modesty.

 

“Four twenty-five, please,” came the cashier’s nasally request for Thor’s payment, followed by an expectant outstretched hand.

 

“Oh, uh, mind putting his on my tab too?”

 

“Sure, double that then, gorgeous,” she said, winking at him. He looked up in surprise, reading her name tag: ‘Darcy.’  _ All right, weird name for a weird smoothie maker _ , he conceded.  _ I’ll take it. _

 

“Does anyone call you by your name?” Loki mused, pointing to a drink containing a sickening amount of fruit (in Thor’s stomach’s opinion) and asking for it politely. Thor handed Darcy his credit card, signed his receipt, and tipped her well for being a fun addition to the morning.

 

“Not that I recall, no,” Thor laughed for the first time that morning, taking a couple steps and leaning against a nearby pillar while waiting for their drinks. 

 

“Good, it’s a silly name. Too Asgardian for its own good. Also, I didn’t ask you to pay for that, so don’t think you’re getting extra credit or anything.”

 

“Who says I can’t do something out of the goodness of my heart?” The wrestler played, then quickly submitted: “I’m mostly hoping you go easy on me today. Especially with that yardstick.”

 

“No promises. Gotta set an example for the newbies today,” Loki chuckled, picking up his drink since it came out first, and just walking on his own to class. Thor looked after him in confusion, then back at Darcy, who was looking up over the too-tall counter at him.

 

“Hey, gorgeous muscle man, I fucked up your order so give me a sec, okay?” Darcy laughed, grabbing a larger cup than Thor had ordered. “Honestly, this sounds disgusting. I don’t know how to make it.” At this, Thor began to regret tipping her well, terrified he might just receive a cup of mashed banana with a spoon of peanut butter instead of a smoothie. “No worries at all,” he returned politely.

 

“Okay, okay, got it this time. Sorry about that. I gave you a larger one as an apology. I hope it’s okay. I swear it’s not my first day.” Darcy was kind of rambling at this point, but certainly not out of nerves. Unfortunately for Thor, he was a minute away from being late and thanked her kindly and then rushed down the hall to the strength-stretching room.

 

“Odinson, kind of you to join us. Just because you’re star of the wrestling team doesn’t mean you get to be fashionably late,” Dr. Jones chided, with Loki beside her covering his mouth and smiling, looking as if he had something to do with Thor’s public embarrassment.

 

“Sorry, sorry, got a little caught up, Dr. Jones. It won’t happen again,” the wrestler promised, making a note to glare at Loki.

 

The class was already beginning, performing the same stretches Loki had already taught to Thor. This, however, gave him a chance to practice and get it right this time. Hopefully not to be hit in the heels by Loki’s dreaded yardstick.

 

Thirty minutes into the course and a half dozen different exercises later, Loki had risen from taking attendance based on the faces of the students on his laptops to saunter around the world, checking the students’ form. He politely offered a couple corrections to some freshmen who were struggling and unfamiliar with going to the gym in general. Upon realizing this, Loki spent some extra time with them, making sure they were feeling comfortable and not a smidgeon out of place or out of their element. Thor found his ridiculously endearing, and grinned while watching Loki, until during one stretch he tripped over his own foot and the way he caught his fall caused the mats to wheeze out air like a wet sponge squeezed of water.

 

The noise prompted both Dr. Jones and Loki to turn around, and Dr. Jones nodded at Loki knowingly. Quickly trying to recover, Thor looked away and attempted the stretch again, only to feel a light slap to the bone on the inside of his ankle. “Gods, I hate that thing,” Thor complained. “What did I do this time?”

 

“Heel on the ground, Odinson.”

 

“It is on the ground!”

 

“It isn’t,” Loki countered with finality, stepping parallel to Thor to show him the pose he needed to be striking: Knee bent, heel to ass, hand strapped around the top of the heel to keep it pressed to his backside, other leg straight on the ground. Thor thought he’d done this, but noticed a slight difference in the way Loki stood, which he attempted to emulate.

 

“Ah, ah.” Loki tutted and dropped the stretch. He put the yardstick on the ground, “Okay, stay exactly as you are. If you are able to, that is.” Thor did. Loki bent down and slid the yardstick under the space between the mats and Thor’s heel, demonstrating that Thor did indeed not have his heel where it needed to be. “I’m not sure if you have tendonitis in your calves or something, but there are stretches for that I can teach you, too.” 

 

Loki then kicked the yardstick away and took another step closer to Thor, placing his toe gently on the back of Thor’s shoe to force him down. “Ouch,” he winced slightly.

 

“If that hurt, then maybe you do have tendonitis. It happens a lot to ballerinas who have been in the sport since their youth. Short tendons from standing on their toes all the time and thus also doing it while not at practice,” the dancer remarked. “We can work on that on Monday since we’re wrapping up now.”

 

“I appreciate that, thank you.”

 

“That’s what your coach pays me for,” the ballerina snorted. “That and to be friends with you.”

 

“We’re friends?” Thor’s face could have put the sun to shame if you slapped it in the middle of the universe.

 

Though he was smiling, if only a little, he still countered Thor’s question with a stoic “It’s not that deep.”

 

When Loki had long left, Thor realized he forgot to ask when Loki’s next performance was again. 

 

~

 

“So on Friday night, Loki decided to have a tattooing party in the ballet studio without Farbauti’s permission,” Natasha offered as a topic of conversation as she sat down next to Thor, Tony, Fandral, and Volstagg. “Not that she would have said yes even if he asked.”

 

“Aren’t you not really allowed to have tattoos if you do ballet or something?” Thor asked, picking at his salad with a frown.   
  


“No, Thor, that’s archaic. But you’re kind of right. Anyways, he wasn’t the one getting tattooed. He was the one doing them.” Natasha corrected, waving a finger to indicate that the wrestler ought not to interrupt her again. “Anyways, Farbauti had a fit and threatened to kick him off the team again, waving her yardstick like a madwoman at him when she found used needles in the trash can of the studio.”

 

“Damn. His dad must be someone important to stay on the team with all you guys say,” Thor stated.

 

Tony butted in between bites of his sandwich, “I mean, yeah, his father _ is  _ Dean Laufey _. _ ”

 

“Shit, are you serious?” The wrestler’s jaw dropped.

 

“But he’s honestly a star and huge pull for the team, too, Tony.” Natasha tersely countered, not enjoying any rude implications about her friend. “We’d be dismantled if Loki wasn’t on the team. He’s been a ballet prodigy since he was four.”

  
“Wait, he’s your TA and you never looked at what his last name was?” Fandral interjected, laughing. Volstagg attempted to defend Thor: “You know he doesn’t read syllabi, dude.” Thor sighed,  _ Not helpful or redeeming, Volstagg _ , he thought.  _ How much more complicated can this get before it even begins _ . Thor stuck to shutting up and slicing the steak for his salad now, deep in thought.

 

“If we’re roasting Thor, then Loki even told him the first night they met at the bar. Peak observation skills,” the engineer chuckled, then looked over at Thor to see him with eyebrows knit, staring into nothingness, appearing pensive. “Don’t hurt yourself, big guy,” Tony teased, seeing Thor’s pensive face completely abandoning the conversation. 

 

“Tony, I have a better GPA than you do.”

 

“Only because you go to class.”

 

“Yes? That’s what we’re supposed to do? We’re students.”

 

“Sure we are.”

 

After they finished their lunch, the gang bid their farewells. Thor had tried to ask Natasha again when their next performance was, and she just smiled, refusing to answer and telling him he ought to find out from Loki instead. Volstagg and Fandral headed in the same direction and let Thor know they’d see him at practice and marched off towards the gym.

 

~

 

Later that day, Thor was in the library, finally deciding to sit down and read his syllabi and get back to this organization thing he desperately needed to try. He had pulled out a planner, several different colored pens, and all of his syllabi. The wrestler dutifully marked down assignments due for each class in their respective color, but specifically using green for Kinesiology 130, despite only having three total assignments and grading events for the class. Thor realized he kind of loved it. He finally understood why Natasha made those bullet journals, even though he was far from that point in his desire for organization. 

 

“What about the fifth edition?” He heard a familiar voice several yards in front of him at the help desk of the library. Loki seemed to be asking after a book the library didn’t seem to have. “But you said a week ago you would at least have the seventh for Dr. Banner’s Bioethics course.”

 

“I’m sorry, that was before we had a rush of students come in and borrow the book three days ago. They are required to bring it back no later than Wednesday, though, if you still need it then.”

 

“My assignment is due tomorrow at midnight and I require the book, so that unfortunately won’t work,” Loki sighed, rubbing his temples. “Look, I’ll take any version of the book and suffer the consequences for now. Hopefully Dr. Banner is forgiving.”

 

“I’m sorry. We do have the first edition from 1998? I’ll write down the decimal code for you.”   
  
“Sure thing, thank you for the help,” he sighed, taking the slip of paper and walking in Thor’s direction, staring at it.

 

Though it didn’t seem like the best time to disturb Loki, Thor still had been meaning to ask when the dancer’s next recital was and he’d never been one for stifling his impulses, so when Loki was about to pass the table, he touched the raven-haired man’s wrist gently, prompting an immediate response of the opposite wrist flicking a knife into view after hearing a metallic click, angled slightly at Thor. As almost an afterthought, Loki caught Thor’s eyes, realizing it was him, and took his wrist back, folding the knife back into itself and into his pocket. “Yeah, what?”

 

The wrestler’s eyes went from bowling balls to normal size in milliseconds, trying to recover from the momentary fear of being stabbed in a quiet Sunday library. “I just wanted to say hi. Definitely not trying to die today.” 

 

“Not in the best of moods, Thor,” Loki warned, his emerald eyes sharp enough to cut, laser focused in on Thor’s sapphire eyes.

 

“Can I help?”

 

“Do you know the Dewey Decimal System?” Thor nodded silently. “All right, yes, then. Usually I get this books pre-ordered and ready for pickup ahead of time. I’m not used to going and searching for them.”   
  
“Cushy life,” Thor teased, offering his hand to ask for the slip of paper, which the dancer obliged. “Oh, easy. It’s in the back.” 

 

“Great,  _ sounds  _ easy.”

 

“I promise.”

 

“What else do you promise?”

 

“Riches beyond your wildest imagination. No, honestly, but I can promise I’ll come to your recital if you tell me when it is.”

 

“And why would I want that?” Loki scowled, but the guise was becoming easier for Thor to see through.

 

“I dunno, maybe you want another cheerleader, cheer captain.” Thor laughed, and Loki smiled, catching the reference to the night they met. He continued to lead him and Loki to the back where his book was.

 

“Tonight.”

 

“Huh?” Thor asked absentmindedly, thumbing through the codes to find the right decimal, finding it had to be closer to the floor and causing him to kneel.

 

“It’s tonight at seven.”

 

“Shit, short notice,” He looked up at the other male with eyebrows raised.

 

“You asked, dumbass.” Loki unfolded his hands from fists in order to emphasize his answer, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“I know! And I intend to keep my promise. Where at?” Thor found the book and gently fingered it out of its place, knowing Loki was watching intently so he took his dear time. “Give it or I won’t tell you, Odinson.” The blonde chuckled, lifting the book to Loki in his spot kneeled on the ground.

 

“Stark Performing Arts,” he answered, already turned on his heel to check out the book.

 

“You got it, then. I’ll see you there!” And for the umpteenth time, Thor watched him go. It was becoming a habit. He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t looking at the dancer’s ass a lot of the time, but really he was impressed by the entire visage of the man in general. Thor would definitely be there tonight.

 

~

 

It was dark inside the theatre when Thor arrived, his marked-off ticket in hand, he noticed a steady thumping of a drum like thunder crashing invited the audience to sync their hearts with. He chose a seat as close to the middle as he possibly could, despite the crowd. It ended up being in the front, which Thor didn’t object to. Now, the floor lights dimmed but the drum beat and ancient voices seem to accompany the beat as red curtains revealed a seemingly empty stage, music unlike anything he’d ever heard in the Swan Lake or Nutcracker soundtrack. 

 

The lights came up on stage to a single spot, and there was only one person there, curled into themselves and dressed only in black. Thor could hardly make out if the figure yet had hair until limbs sprang out of it with elegant sweeps and yearning hands, revealing pale skin and dark, silky hair that fell in waves as his face rose; it could have been none other than Loki. Still, Thor would argue he looked like a beautiful, genderless sorcerer rising from the ash of a medieval battlefield to observe the carnage and blood. As Loki rose, his body jerked then swayed to the music. It felt like thunder in the theatre, and lights began to flash, unlike anything Thor expected from ballet. He thought this was all going to be tutus and frilly dancing, not dark viking war music and wrists that fell in waves as often as they flicked like knives.

 

Loki’s legs soon spread from the ball they were contained in, reaching out like one would pull themselves out of a ditch with arms following from side to side. Eventually, he drew everything back in again and the lights fell away from him and then to another figure on the other side of the stage. This one clearly Natasha with her red hair in a perfect sock bun, on her knees and beginning with a stark warrior’s pose before she softened and lifted a wrist gently to allow her hand to beckon in the other direction of the stage. From the darkness, a hand extended, middle finger barely touching Natasha’s and she yanked her body away as though hit with a gust of wind or burned by flame and recoiling. The foreign hand drifted closer, pulling her by the waist into the air and giving her enough time and room to land elegantly on her feet. With an arm to the sky and the other facing the spotlight who now revealed Loki, the valkyrie had opened her fist to display all five fingers to the sorcerer to tell them to stop.

 

He drifted closer by pirouetting on his toes, arms changing in position and angle as if to indicate the changeable and mercurial nature of the sorcerer. Another female entered right, springing with legs wide towards valkyrie, as if not even seeing the sorcerer, who seamlessly drifted and fell back to observe. Natasha was quick to recoil, dodging a ‘blow’ with elegant arms and a turned back, allowing the audience to see red needlework all down the back of her shoulders and mid back, painted like wounds. Her middle finger always glued to her thumb with other fingers freer to gesticulate, the valkyrie kept close to the ground to stalk the enemy while the sorcerer watched from the ramparts, as if calculating a strike to the back. Natasha and Loki both advanced on the enemy, all three meeting one another in the middle of the stage and gesturing as if two daggers from back and front had pierced the offending person. Suddenly, the enemy fell between them, causing Loki and Natasha to dance back on their toes with an unreal amount of repetitions to how their toes tapped against the stage.

 

Loki bent suddenly, but recovered as if it were all part of his graceful battlefield maneuvers, mocking an arrow to his ankle and shoulder, sinking him to the ground with Natasha quickly pulling her hands in the form of a bow. The light flicked as if not sure whether to pan entirely to the defeated sorcerer or the valkyrie, but it served to focus the audience on the valkyrie, caught in the act and appearing as though she had shot her battlefield companion, clearly unable to trust the sorcerer. 

 

As the lights fell and floor lights began tricking up the aisles and curtain closing indicated a short intermission. At this, Thor looked down into his lap at the program now that lights were coming on in the theatre once more. “RAW: Free Dance” the program read, and underneath it explained that this was their beginning-of-the-semester warm up for charity, something that Den Norske Opera & Ballett often did to allow their dancers free rein while raising money for a charity of their choice. In the pamphlet indicated that Ballet Captain Loki Laufeyson and Vice-Captain Natasha Romanov had elected to give the night’s proceeds to a women’s shelter on the edge of town. A blurb below it remarked on the percentage of women in compromising, violent situations in the home and how many leave and are without any resources. The gesture made Thor smile gently, as the son of a single mother who all too well knew violent men and unworthy lovers.

 

The rest of the show didn’t feature Loki or Natasha, instead given to the newer and lower-classmen on the team to display their upcoming talents with more traditional songs. It was beautiful, but not quite as moving and intense as Loki and Natasha on a battlefield. Honestly, he admitted to himself, if this is what ballet was then he was upset he didn’t get into it earlier. Another twenty minutes later, the upperclassmen with the exception of Loki and Natasha had concluded their performance as well. Everyone in the company joined them on stage, including Director Farbauti, to bow. Thor grinned widely and clapped wildly for Loki, but quickly noticing him standing with more weight on one ankle, as if to offer needed relief.  _ Probably just a normal side effect of dancing so high on your feet _ , he concluded, not worrying about it since he saw nothing out of the ordinary about Loki’s performance. Not that he knew much.

 

After the applause and announcement of names and a message delivered by the company’s director, the audience was let free to go. Many stayed and thanked the dancers, who thanked them back. Thor spotted Dean Laufey who had sat in the back and got up to leave without even bluffing that he would come down to speak with his son, but Loki didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, talking animatedly with Natasha and some highly appreciative audience members and ballet company donors.

 

Another fifteen minutes later and Loki returns backstage with Natasha, who seems to be whispering urgently in his ear. Seems like as good of time as any, Thor thought, now that he wasn’t interrupting any important conversations between the dancers and possible donations for their cause of the night. The blonde followed up the side of the stage to find Loki sitting on a podium, peeling off his ballet shoes with a wince with Natasha patting him gently on the shoulder, “You still did great. Chin up.” This earned the redhead a grimace, to which she shrugged and walked in Thor’s direction to exit, but also smiled and put her arms around his shoulders.

 

“I’m glad you figured out when our performance was. Thanks for coming, big guy. I hope you liked it, even if we ended things a little too early on Loki and my performance,” Natasha said, her smile changing with near-indiscernible sadness if you didn’t know her well enough.

 

“I didn’t notice a thing, what happened?” Thor asked, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Maybe this is why he was standing oddly at the end, Thor reminded himself.

 

“Ask yourself,” the redhead shrugged, “But he bent his ankle incorrectly while pirouetting. Farbauti was pissed. See you tomorrow for lunch?” 

 

“Yeah, of course, same time and place. Try to get Steve to come. I only ever saw him at that party. Guy’s disappeared. It’d be nice to catch up.”

 

“Sure thing. Bye, Thor.” 

 

After Natasha had walked down and off stage, Thor approached Loki, who now appeared to be the only person left in the theatre, as Farbauti left him without a word akin to Dean Laufey. It certainly did look like Loki was on thin ice almost all of the time. “You all right? It was really beautiful, if that means anything coming from a complete beginner,” Thor asked, trying to offer a smile as he stood above Loki. 

 

The dancer didn’t look up, “No, I appreciate it,” he answered dismissively, transfixed with a blushing red spot on his foot. “Just gonna have to take like three baths and five ice packs to get the swelling down tonight so I can be good to go at practice tomorrow.” Loki sighed. Thor had a feeling there was something more Loki had to say, so he didn’t yet respond. 

 

“You won’t believe why it happened, though. You might even laugh,” Loki said, finally looking up at Thor and rolling his eyes, looking back down to trace what Thor recognized as a welt on the bone on the inside of his heel. 

 

Horrified, Thor asked, “Why would I laugh at your pain?”

 

“Gods, Thor, no,” he scoffed. “It’s ironic, not actually funny. I neglected to do enough of those stretches I showed you this week. I didn’t practice even once, in all honesty. Most of that was impromptu besides the general idea and needing an additional person on stage for a couple of movements.” Loki explained, his eyes back up on Thor’s.

 

“Maybe you ought to start deadlifting now, since you’re already halfway there to all the mistakes I’ve made,” Thor jibed, leaning down on a knee. “I still suck at physical therapy for all the times I’ve had to do it, but I like to think I’m decent at foot massages, if that’s something you’re partial to,” Thor offered, rolling up the sleeves on his white cotton long-sleeved shirt. It definitely did his arms justice especially when rolled up to the elbow, and he knew it. The blonde gently pulled two fingers behind Loki’s ankle to get it to sit on his knee.

 

“I don’t know if that’s—” And before Loki knew it, Thor was kneading a knuckle into the center of his foot. “Actually, you don’t suck at that. Keep it up for a little,” the dancer chuckled, relaxing his posture and putting both hands on the podium and leaning back.

 

“Thanks!” Thor grinned, feeling like he was finally getting through to the man who continuously gave him the cold shoulder every chance he could. He continued massaging the ballerina’s injured foot, hearing a sigh that encouraged to continue. The blonde looked up at Loki then to figure out whether this was okay or not and observe the dancer’s expression since he’d been quiet as a mouse since his fingers touched the offending ankle. Loki just looked down at him softly, one side of his lips barely quirked upwards. Thor stared back, dumbstruck by how beautiful, unimpeded, and relaxed Loki looked. He was off-guard. And it took Thor’s breath away, stopping his hand on the dancer’s foot to just hold it absentmindedly, which Loki didn’t mind either way at the moment.

 

Somehow, though, it felt...odd, maybe wrong, though.  _ Oh, right, he’s my TA, that might be why _ , Thor inwardly sighed, looking away from Loki’s eyes in submission and thought.  _ That’s why this is wrong _ , he conceded, about to retract his hand and knee, when the proffered foot pressed completely onto his knee and Thor felt delicate fingers on his chin beckoning him to look up. He did, and Gods, the look on Loki’s face could melt the glaciers. It was heavenly. Distracted but somehow present. The dancer leaned down, his fingers softly moving up Thor’s bearded jaw to cup it, and his lips pressed softly into the wrestler’s. As if he’d been waiting for this since the moment he met Thor, Loki sighed into the kiss contently.

 

Thor’s eyes immediately fell shut, and he felt like lightning was flashing behind his eyelids and in his chest. He kissed back, leaning up and moving his hand from Loki’s ankle to grasp his knee, not asking for more or pulling him close, no matter how much he wanted to. It was better to hesitate, he always felt. Better not to ask for too much, only to have it stripped from you all the quicker.

 

However, Loki was not of this mind, placing a hand on the back of Thor’s head to tangle into his loose blonde hair, and deepening the kiss by tilting his head. At this point, Thor was pretty sure he lost the ability to clearly reason. Or to care that the gorgeous, irresistible man kissing him was his TA and a definite violation of Loki’s contract as conflict of interest to Thor. He slid his hand from Loki’s knee up his thigh and to settle on his waist, his thumb brushing up and down as he opened his mouth in the kiss, which Loki took as an immediate opportunity to slide his tongue in, slowly and languidly pushing against the wrestler’s tongue, earning a groan from the latter. They continued like this for several minutes, hands grasping then letting go, tangled in hair and then tangled in clothes, not sure how far was too far.

 

It was all so slow, and barely anything was happening in the grand scheme of things, but Thor was so unbelievably turned on and charmed that he couldn’t be bothered to care. His cock was pressing harshly into his jeans against his thigh. Not that it was the wisest idea, but Thor decided to stand up, the adjustment and slight friction making him bite his lip. His hands traveled from Loki’s waist to the back of his neck, and he stood above Loki, forcing the dancer to crane his head back and allow Thor control of the kiss. Sensing this change in power dynamics, Loki opted to press even further, pushing Thor back a step and falling to his knees in front of the wrestler, making quick work of the buckle on his pants.

 

Soon, Thor’s pants sat loosely around his hips, his fly down, and cock pulled out above the waistband of his gray boxers. Loki stared up at Thor with the most devious smirk he had ever seen, pulling his hair from his shoulders up into a bun on the top of his head with a hair tie. The dancer then licked his hand from wrist to his middle finger, then wrapped the hand around Thor’s aching cock, pumping it quickly and urging Thor to buck into the movements somewhat.

 

“Fuck, Loki, we have to stop,” Thor panted. “We can’t do this.” He wanted to do anything  _ but _ stop.

 

“Can’t we?” He smirked with an eyebrow barely arched in challenge, and his tongue flicked against the tip of Thor’s cock, then tracing from his balls to the tip of his cock once more, before opening his lips and swallowing the thick cock in front of him, making Thor completely give up and lean his head back with a whimpering moan. Loki went as far as to slip a hand behind Thor to grope his ass, making him groan even louder. With one hand still pumping his thick cock, and the other now coming around the front to cup and massage his balls, Thor knew he wouldn’t last much longer, even without Loki’s hot mouth on him.

 

“Loki...Gods, I’m going to cum soon if you keep that up,” Thor warned, trying to use his command of Loki’s hair to pull him off, which only resulted in Loki pressing his face even harder into Thor’s crotch, deepthroating the man’s leaking cock and pulling it out in a single movement. Thor thought this was relief, but Loki only pursed his lips and then took Thor back into his mouth, now licking the underside of Thor’s cock and sucking on it in rotation with deepthroating it roughly. The dancer took this moment to look up at Thor with wide green eyes, and Thor looked back, attempting to control his panting squeezing Loki’s shoulder almost hard enough to leave bruises. Loki somehow managed to smirk with his mouth around Thor’s large cock and went even faster, his eyes glinting with danger, bringing Thor slowly to his completion, cum spurting down Loki’s throat as the blonde let a quiet, but long groan slip from his licked-dry and kiss-swollen lips. It was the hottest thing Loki had ever seen.

 

Swallowing Thor’s seed, Loki stood up, pressing his body flush against Thor’s so that the wrestler could feel the hardness against his body. He kissed Thor roughly this time, forcing his tongue into the blonde’s mouth and pulling on his hair, making sure Thor could taste himself on Loki’s tongue. The dancer moaned when Thor responded in kind, his other hand groping Thor’s firm bicep, and tore himself away, leaving them both panting.

 

“I’ll see you Monday,” he grinned mischievously, running a hand through the hair that had fallen out of his bun, then letting it down against his shoulders once more, and making a quick exit as always. 

 

Thor stood, completely astounded that he just received head from the hottest ballerina he’d ever seen, who also just happened to be his TA he would see the very next morning.  _ Shit. _

  
~

 

The next day in class was excruciating. Thor wore gray sweatpants to class because it was the first thing he found when he woke up late, forgetting it would be the absolute worst thing to wear in front of the man who had sucked him off less than twelve hours before.

 

When Thor walked in to the strength-stretching room of the Borson Complex, he was nearly late, but thankfully not quite. Loki was sitting on the mats in the corner, taking attendance on his laptop as usual. When he looked up to see the face that passed through the door to mark them off, he smirked upon realizing it was Thor, who dumbly smiled back and offered an awkward wave before putting his stuff with the rest of the class at the edges of the mats.

 

Dr. Jones was giving instruction to the rest of the class, and everyone was standing around her at the front. Loki, still on his laptop on the floor, looked up at Thor who stood at the edge of the circle. Everyone else was paying rapt attention to the instruction, but Thor couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Loki. When he caught Thor’s eye, the dancer made a motion of pumping a cock into his mouth, emulating the tip with his tongue diagonal to his hand. The wrestler’s eyebrows raised and he blushed, quickly looking away. Forget the class being excruciating, it was going to be a long god damn Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a little tracklist for this AU so far if you guys have a mind to check it out below. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Tracklist:  
> [Saint Motel - “Sweet Talk”](https://youtu.be/ygmZ8hZPix8)  
> [Natalia Kills - “Problem”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrZI6OmezE)  
> [Danheim - "Framganga"](https://youtu.be/cJPTLAKq2Ck>Fitz%20and%20the%20Tantrums%20-%20%E2%80%9CComplicated%E2%80%9D</a><br%20/>%0A<a%20href=) (Ballet Recital)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An honest man would have conceded nowhere had the best takeout in their shitty college town, but the ballerina and wrestler refused to concede for the sake of how much it made them laugh to debate the merits of soggy tofu versus day-old fried chicken on even older waffles. They gave up and decided to call in a pizza to pick up from a spot close to Thor’s apartment, meaning neither of them won. In all honesty, neither of them seemed to care. The debate ended in laughter and passionate kisses and cold pizza and none of it even mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forewarning that this chapter is kinda long. I had a lot to kind of stuff into it. Also, get ready for some surprise angst you totally didn’t want!
> 
>  
> 
> **CW for physical abuse and talking about it later in the chapter.**

“Jesus, Thor. You know he could get dismissed if the professor finds out, right?” Steve admonished. Finally, Thor got a chance to catch up with Steve but it was only to be scolded on his morals. It’d been an entire three months since he’d last talked with Steve in person and he didn’t even get to say hello while he was slurping jello off the body of the man they were just talking about.

 

“I didn’t start it! Or finish it!” Thor quickly defended himself, opening his palms out in surrender. 

 

“Yes, but you’ll probably do it again,” Steve sighed, Thor pressed his lips into a tight line and shrugged comically. “All right, getting past that. How are things going? Any injuries yet this season?”

 

“No, but mostly because we’ve barely begun practicing. First two weeks are conditioning for the freshmen, then we can start getting back into the swing of things,” Thor stated, watching Natasha pull up behind Steve and put a finger to her lips, making him look back at Steve discreetly. 

 

“Maybe Loki can give you a couple more private lessons in that time, huh?” Steve chuckled. All of a sudden: A metallic click, and an object was held to Steve’s neck.

 

“Steve,” Natasha regarded him, her wrist steady against Steve. 

 

“Nat,” he responded in kind with a smile up at her, gently pushing her wrist away to find the object was a practice butterfly knife. “Not even a real one this time? You’re losing your touch,” Steve laughed. 

 

“Yeah, yeah. I got a butterfly knife and figured that I ought to be safe about doing some tricks with it first, so I got the dummy knife, too.” 

 

“What’s with you and Loki and knives? Is there something about being a ballerina that also makes you an assassin?” Thor queried, his eyebrows knit together in genuine confusion.

 

“If I told you, I would have to kill you,” she responded, giving a small half-smile and sitting down beside Steve with a bag from the student union food court. “Also, what’s this about private lessons?” Natasha asked, pulling a sandwich out of the bag and tilting her head in suspicion at Thor.

 

“Uh…” Thor bumbled dully.

 

“Thor made some hanky panky with the bad boy from your company,” Steve haughtily told her, clearly meaning to get him in trouble. The look on his face read, ‘I hope you get in as much trouble as I think you deserve for this transgression.’

 

“Oh, cool. About time something happened.” Natasha anticlimactically commented, shrugging casually.

 

“He’s Thor’s teaching assistant, Nat!” Steve balked, hitting her elbow in an effort to indicate the serious and reprehensible nature of the act.

 

“Not first, no. They knew each other before that, if we’re being technical,” she arched a brow at Steve as if to say ‘Let it go, Thor can figure it out.’ But to emphasize her point further, she continued: “Bucky became your World War II history TA after you guys started going out, but  _ you guys _ didn’t break up.”

 

“Yeah, but we were  _ dating _ ,” Steve growled.

 

“Bucky wasn’t under that impression at the time.”

 

“Fine, okay, maybe it’s not that bad. But be careful, Thor. You could get him into serious trouble. Like trouble that might get him kicked off the team for good and not for a couple minutes,” Steve added, steadily getting quieter when Thor’s wrestling team friends approached.

 

Once Fandral and Volstagg sat down, the topic changed back to wrestling and how excited the guys were that it was starting up again next week, how they’d been bulking up all summer to kick some ass, the normal spiels and laughs. 

 

~

 

Loki wasn’t in class the following day, leaving Thor dazed and disinterested in Kinesiology 130 and wondering where the dancer was instead. He was slowly getting better at all the stretches and exercises they had been learning the past couple weeks. As the class ended and classmates trickled out, Dr. Jones stopped Thor on his way out, nearly giving him a heart attack out of guilt. Loki gone, Dr. Jones asking to speak privately to Thor—it had to be trouble.

 

“Thor, Coach Fury wanted me to tell you that you ought to begin implementing these stretches into your workouts. Clearly I can’t grade you on that, but whether or not you keep up your record number of injuries per season will reflect on me,” she explained, the rest of the sentence left unsaid. “I would recommend fitting in your workouts in the morning before class, especially since we meet at nine, since it will condition your muscles to be worked then stretched, and ultimately stronger and more sturdy in the long run.”

 

“I can manage that, Dr. Jones,” Thor smiled politely. “If it means not being on crutches for the ninth time, I’d like to try it. Especially now that I know what to do.”

 

“Thank you, Thor. You can head out now and I’ll see you next week for our yoga unit. Good luck starting the season,” she left with a small wave goodbye and a cordial smile.

 

~

 

This weekend, Thor decided to stay in to get a headstart on his readings and assignments for class, which meant that his friends would tease him at lunch in the coming week. Still, you don’t get a GPA higher than Tony’s by doing nothing. He was even going to miss drinks night with the team and newcomers on Saturday night until he received a text from a number he didn’t recognize.

 

From: [Unknown] at 7:13 PM

Why aren’t you here? 

 

Thor wondered if Sif got a new phone over the summer and was about to scold him for not joining the festivities of welcoming the freshman, because it sure sounded like something she would do, as much as he loved her. He texted back, “Lot of work to do, sry,” prompting an immediate text back. Definitely couldn’t be Sif. As soon as she texted someone, it was almost like she threw her phone into an abyss and didn’t text back until the next day.

 

From: [Unknown] at 7:15 PM

Doesn’t matter. Get down here. Some little kid won’t stop moping about how you’re not here and he wanted to meet you.

 

Still not sure who this was, Thor just sat there, watching the other person type as three dots popped up and fell.

 

From: [Unknown] at 7:15 PM

Also, they scheduled our drinks night together again.

 

Oh,  _ definitely _ Loki. Thor immediately saved the number to his phone and texted back: “Fine, fine. Omw.” He was lucky that he was mostly done with his readings and only needed to write a reflection. It could wait till tomorrow. Thor threw on a denim jacket on top of his black short-sleeved shirt, slipping on a pair of dirty white converses while tying his hair up into a messy bun and walking right out the door, slapping his ass to check that he had his wallet and almost startling himself with the echo it made in the empty hallway.

 

Their usual bar was just down the hill along the main road outside of campus, only taking Thor about five minutes all together to get to. The bouncer asked for proof of his being in the ballet company or on the wrestling team, so Thor dug out his ID to show the bouncer, who checked it against his list and checked him off. “Thanks, Mr. Odinson.”

 

Walking inside, the bar was far more full than the last time they had a drinks night. There were far more people on the side where Natasha and Loki were, which Thor recognized some of them as exceptional underclassmen from the recital, managing to sneak into the first performance of the year out of sheer skill, according to Natasha. The redhead managed to look up in the middle of these thoughts, and smiled courteously at him. Loki, appearing in a conversation with her, followed her gaze once she smiled and found Thor, deciding to wink at him and quickly returning to the conversation by touching Nat’s arm. Clearly if you were talking to Loki, he expected all eyes on him. Thor chuckled, turning to the side of the bar occupied by the far louder wrestling team jocks.

 

“Thor! So you did make it! We thought you were gonna pussy out.”

 

“Bad choice of words, Volstagg,” Hogun stared blankly at the beer-bleary redhead, Thor smiled at Hogun in appreciation. Volstagg just shrugged and grinned, shoving a beer at Thor.

 

“Yeah, well, it felt a little mean not to say hello to the freshmen,” the blonde smiled gently, his comment bringing a light of recognition to Fandral’s eyes: “Oh, right! Someone wanted to meet you, Mr. Star of the Team,” he remarked, taking Thor by both of his shoulders and pushing him into the corner of the bar toward a couple of tables with kids who looked far too young to be in college.

 

“Mr. Odinson!” A young  brunette boy gleamed, a grin so wide Thor wasn’t sure whether his face would split into two or not. “They said you were caught up with schoolwork!”

 

“I came by to say hello! No need to hide from the newbies. You guys will be our rising stars here in a couple months. Better to know you before you become local celebrities so you remember the little guys.” 

 

“I’m Peter!” The brunette smiled, outstretching his hand, which Thor took. This kid definitely will be in the lightweight category. But he seemed to have the spunk to do good throws.  _ Probably did Judo in high school _ , Thor mused,  _ he’ll be good at evasion _ .

 

“You can call me Thor,” the blonde smiled, clapping the boy on the shoulder while still having hold of his hand, which seemed to all but put stars in his eyes.

 

“Okay, Mr. Thor,” Peter nodded. Thor mentally added this  _ Peter  _ child to the list of people who wouldn’t call him by his actual name. “I was wondering, how do you balance school work and wrestling so well? I feel like I’m already struggling but you seem like you’ve got the hang of it and I need some help,” he admitted, his smile turning shy.

 

“After five years, I ought to have the hang of it,” Thor bellowed a laugh.

 

“No, no, that’s not what I mean—” Panic sprung up on the young wrestler’s face quickly, followed by hands flicking up to signal submission and apology.

 

“Don’t worry, Peter, you’ll get the hang of it. That’s college for you,” Thor smiled knowingly, clapping the kid on the shoulder, “I’ll go introduce myself to the rest of the recruits, but it was great talking to you. I think you’re gonna be a really good addition to the team.” Just hearing this, it looked like Peter was going to explode from happiness now that his college wrestling hero validated him; Thor chuckled. “And if you wanna figure out how to bulk up for the team, you can join me Monday morning at the gym around 7?” Peter nodded enthusiastically at the offer, making Thor smile as he turned around.

 

He made his rounds to the rest of the freshman, politely introducing himself and asking them their majors, other normal and political stuff that a team captain should do and know about their teammates. Thor offered Peter to come with him on his next workout, telling him he knew exactly how to help the kid make the most use out of his weight class, despite the stark difference in body type between them. At one point, he heard some people yelling on the other end of the bar and lots of cheering. Looking over, he found Loki yet again shirtless and lying on the end of the bar acting the part of the shot boy. 

Hogun walked up to Thor, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Why aren’t you that cool of a captain?” He asked slyly, knowing Thor was too competitive not to do something stupid after being told he was uncool. Thor had just been too busy introducing himself like a normal, respectable captain! He had to do that before drinking, right? “Just watch, Hogun.”

 

From behind Volstagg and Fandral, Thor could hear Sif sigh loudly, seeming to know exactly what dumb shit was about to go down by looking at Thor’s face and seeing that famous competitive glint in his electric eyes. The blonde gently pushed past the other ballerinas and wrestlers to get to Loki, seeing one of the freshman wrestlers just do a shot off of the raven-haired wonder and eliciting a laugh from him. 

 

“I’m here to take you up on your offer from a week ago,” Thor grinned proudly.

 

“Oh, finally saying hello, are we?” Loki smirked, grabbing a shot cup and using a masterful tongue to pry out the jello while lying back on the bar. It totally didn’t make Thor hard just watching. “Hm, about that,” he quirked a brow at Thor, sitting up and giving the blonde yet another lovely look at his lithe, muscled body. He hops off the counter and some of the athletes whine their “awws” at the game ending, only for Loki to saunter up to Thor like a panther, pushing the denim jacket right off his shoulders and down his arms not too slowly, but not too quickly either, as if not trying to arouse  _ too  _ much suspicion regarding their sexual feelings toward one another. The others watched with some confusion until Loki grabbed the hem of Thor’s t-shirt and peeled it off of him and over his head, throwing it at Fandral’s face, a corner of the shirt landing in his beer and causing the bearded blonde to scowl. At this point, the bar of athletes were hooting, whistling, and hollering with laughs and yells, all except Sif who looked on nervously, wondering what kind of nightmare this would be to tell Coach Fury about when it was all said and done.

 

Confused as all get out, Thor let it happen but stared hard at Loki, uncertainty evident on his face. “You told me you were accepting my offer, Odinson,” he shrugged, switching places with Thor and pushing him onto the counter by his chest, the blonde’s elbows landing against the counter. Loki kept Thor pushed to the counter till he got the message and jumped up, shaking his head and grinning. “A round on the ballet company for everyone!” Loki announced, the exasperated waiter scrambling to find more jello shots for their new shot boy. Natasha’s eyes widened ever so slightly, her surprise telling Thor that Loki definitely should not be putting things on the company’s tab.

 

Thor lied down and Natasha took the opportunity to line up the shots with a soft chuckle anyway, knowing Loki would inevitably just get a slap on the wrist for wasting money. She arranged them in a heart pattern with some adornments on Thor’s chest, abdomen, and hips. Volstagg stumbled up, absolutely insisting that he be the first person to do a shot off of Thor’s ‘perfect god body.’ Followed by Fandral, Hogun, Natasha herself, even Peter, and several blushing freshman ballerinas. After much pressuring and a free drink courageously downed, the team finally convinced Sif to do one for the sake of having all the upperclassmen participate.

 

During the entire ordeal, Thor found it difficult to lie still what with how ticklish it was having beards and soft faces barely brushing against his body. He stifled many laughs, often times pressing his forearm over his face and laughing soundlessly, believing it would provide him some sort of relief. When he thought the last shot had been done, he kept his forearm plastered over his face with some embarrassment and turned his head to the inside of the bar, away from the bar’s company for a moment to catch himself.

 

All of a sudden, he felt a familiar plop of gelatin on his neck and he groaned, keeping his neck still but pulling down his arm in order to see who dared try one more damned shot. He wasn’t disappointed. Loki’s hand cradled Thor’s jaw, keeping him turned to the side, and then leaned down to suck the shot sloppily off of his neck, swallowing it without so much as a bite, then briefly sucking on and nibbling at Thor’s neck. The wrestler’s breath hitched and he bit his lip, doing his best not to moan or give away how he was feeling to a room full of people who more or less knew or respected him and definitely did not need to see his erection. 

 

"See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?" Loki whispered in his ear after finishing up, leaning back to full height once more.

 

"Yeah can you uh, do that again?" The blonde joked as he sat up, arching a brow suggestively.

 

"It'll cost you four percent on your grade."

 

"Do you guys curve at the end?"

 

"Nope," the dancer answered with a pop on the ‘p’.

 

"Great, I'll take ten," he laughed, and Loki offered him a hand to get up and off of the bar, which he took despite not using it to balance, just wanting to touch Loki one more time and knowing that having the ballet captain do  _ more _ shots off of his body sensually would only make the rest of the bar uncomfortable. When Thor got up, those who were still paying attention clapped, but the evening had dissipated into casual chatter and several spilled drinks with many laughs. 

 

Loki, Thor, and Natasha were all talking about last week’s recital jovially, with Thor leading the conversation by peppering the couple with endless compliments about how he had no idea ballet could be so different, but that even when it wasn’t, it was way cooler than he remembered as a kid when his mother forced him to go to the Nutcracker.

 

“That show sucks anyway, honestly,” Loki laughed, halfway into his third drink and blushing from the alcohol consumption.

 

“Loki, it’s a classic! You can’t say that,” Natasha shook her head, still smiling, but obviously disappointed.

 

“I can, and I did. It’s like saying we can’t criticize shitty rulers and historical figures. Just because they’re old and well-known doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get dragged from time to time,” he shrugged. “That’s how we learn from their mistakes and make things better.”

 

“Oddly wise,” Thor said, nodding in mock-thoughtfulness.

 

“Oh, fuck off. I get enough sass from Farbauti, you can knock it the hell off, wrestling team,” Loki hiccupped, waving his hand dismissively as he leaned on the bar and slightly against Natasha, who had hooked an arm playfully around his shoulder with her hand dangling over the dancer’s bare chest. Thor chuckled and threw back his third shot, fourth drink. It had just struck him that neither he or Loki had found their clothes yet. So there _ wasn’t  _ a stain on his shirt for the past thirty minutes, he just wasn’t wearing one. He’d been wondering why Loki’s eyes had been flickering to his chest so often in their conversation.

 

“Did she whack you in the foot again for Sunday night?” Natasha’s smile dropped at the change in conversation.

 

“Of course not, Nat. Farbauti would never strike me,” Loki’s voice lilted sarcastically and rolled his eyes, but Thor wasn’t sure whether the ballet director did or did not whack Loki for his mistake on stage.

 

“Oh, Loki,” Thor prompted, putting down his beer after one last guzzle, prompting the other male to look at him. “Why weren’t you in class on Wednesday?”

 

“Honestly?”

 

“Honestly.”

 

“Better things to do. Like sleeping. Not teaching oafs like you who should know how to stretch.” He smirked, and Thor conceded. It was fair, if irresponsible and short-sighted, and he wished he could do the same thing.

 

Soon enough, the teams began trickling out of the bar and everyone started to go home, saying goodbye to new and old friends alike. Only Sif, Thor, Loki, and Natasha were still there at the end of the night, the captains gathering their forgotten articles of clothing and the time nearing three in the morning. 

 

“Well, I guess we should head out, let these guys close up,” remarked Sif, thanking the bartender and bouncer with Thor quickly following the gesture, waving on his way out while Natasha and Loki walked out ahead of them and kept talking. Sif put some space between them and the ballerinas, and looked at Thor with a serious face.

 

“Sif, I’m a couple drinks too drunk to have a conversation like your face is suggesting. You know I love you like a sister, but I probably can’t—”

 

“I see how you look at him. Just be careful, all right? I know you’re not an idiot, as much as you and the guys like to think you are. I trust you, but know that I’ve always got an eye out for you, too,” she said softly, putting a hand on the back of his shoulders and patting it gently. “I love you like a brother, Thor.”

 

“Thanks, Sif. You’re a better sister than I could ever ask for. I promise I’ll try not to fudge this for myself,” the blonde answered thoughtfully, leaning his head affectionately into hers for a moment.

 

“You better,” Sif laughed, pushing him off, “All right, sleep tight and good luck on the rest of your work tomorrow. It was nice to finally see you again, even if it was to see freshmen do shots off your abs,” she said, waving as she walked away.

 

“Hey, that’s just my life now,” Thor grinned wolfishly and Sif shook her head in mock irritation.

 

“Odinson, where are you headed?” Loki called over his shoulder, Natasha already halfway down the street and ditching him. “Back up University Boulevard. Where are you off to?” He answered, walking up beside Loki.

 

“Same place,” he said and noticed Thor’s hesitation though they kept sauntering up the road lazily. Obviously Thor had never seen him around the apartment complexes off of University Boulevard, so Loki sighed, “My roommates are being dicks, can I stay at your place?”

 

“Why didn’t you ask Natasha?” Thor wondered aloud, scratching his beard absentmindedly. 

 

“She told me to ask you, but if you said no, I should text her to pick me up.”

 

“Classic, but yes, I don’t mind,” Thor offered a sympathetic smile. “But only if you tell me what you did to piss off your roommates.”

 

“It’s a long story, so we may need longer than the walk to your apartment,” the dancer laughed.

 

As they walked up the hill and into Thor’s apartment complex, Loki started from the beginning of his sophomore year when he had different roommates who happened to be freshmen who had not yet gotten out of their ‘bully people because they’re different’ stage so they teased him for being effeminate and doing ballet. Basically a repeat of the year before, Loki mentioned. It eventually got so bad that he requested different roommates for the next semester and moved in with who he’d lived with now for two years. He then explained the people he currently lived with were extremely pleasant, but he couldn’t find it in himself to really trust them after years of shitty, passive aggressive, mean roommates. Loki admitted he would find a way to twist little things they did into massive transgressions in order to protect himself.

 

After two years of this, his roommates got tired of it and sat him down, telling him that they only had good intentions and that they would take a break from interacting with him until he figured some shit out. But he couldn’t stand living somewhere where he couldn’t communicate with his roommates, even if he never wanted to and was scared they’d treat him like previous roommates had, and he was still a little shaken from being sat down, so he went to the bar in a bad mood, hoping to turn it around, and definitely hoping to find a way not to go home, even if it meant sleeping on the grass on campus under the stars till security told him to scram and his father was called again.

 

By the time Loki had finished telling the story, and Thor asking his follow up questions, they had sobered up considerably and were drinking caffeine-free tea in Thor’s living room while sitting on top of his dining table mindlessly. While Thor may not be able to relate to Loki’s situation and found it puzzling in and of itself, he still apologized sympathetically, saying “I hope you guys figure it out, though. You’ve done so long enough. Maybe treat them more like friends and you’ll find yourself forgiving them more.”

 

Loki shrugged, not seeming to process the piece of advice, which only served to urge Thor to continue: “No, really. We get annoyed easily with strangers, but we have no idea what’s going on in their life. You’re basically living with strangers, so you think that little actions are an affront against you. If you got to know them as people instead of strangers who drift in and out of your living space, you might actually like them and feel less insecure around them.” Thor offered, putting an arm around Loki’s shoulder in a manner meant to be platonic more than anything. “Now come on, let me set you up in my room so you can sleep. I’ll just be out here if you need me.”

 

“I’m not taking your room, especially on such short notice since I barged in here,” Loki appeared defensive, but his words conveyed consideration for Thor’s feelings and comfort.

 

“Then I’ll sleep in my room.”

 

“I’m not sleeping on the couch,” the dancer countered, hands on his hips.

 

“Gods, Loki, I know what you’re doing,” Thor groaned, leaning his head back in exasperation. They both knew they should be holding back, given the conflict in interest their relationship was beginning to entail.

 

“What am I doing?” Loki asked innocently.

 

“Nothing, nothing. I’ll concede. No funny business, though,” Thor upheld a single finger to Loki, his face serious.

 

“As if you wouldn’t reciprocate,” Loki smirked at him, staring right past the accusatory finger. “But… Deal. I’ll be good.”

 

Thor hopped off the table and grabbed their mugs, throwing the teabags into a compost container and then washing the mugs and immediately putting them on the rack to dry. Before he could turn around, he felt arms wrap around his waist and a face press into the top of back. With Loki’s full body pressed against him, Thor found himself surprisingly relaxed and leaned back ever so slightly. Loki felt like home. He heard a noise, but couldn’t quite make out words, if there were any. Hoping he wasn’t just imagining things, he hummed in question, hoping for Loki to repeat himself.

 

“Thank you, Thor.” Loki said softly.

 

“Don’t mention it, Loki.” Thor turned around in Loki’s embrace, holding the younger man to his chest with arms wrapped completely around him, despite them being practically the same height. “Let’s get to bed?” The blonde prompted, receiving an approving hum in response. It was about four in the morning, so they both hopped into bed. Thor only in his boxers, and Loki still wearing a form-fitting black long-sleeved shirt and black briefs. He was too tired, too hazy to even care that he was sleeping with his TA. When they both pulled up the covers, Thor draped an arm around Loki with a speck of hope that this would be okay. It’d been years since the wrestler had gotten to sleep closely with someone again and hold them at night. Initially, Loki tensed, but he allowed it and even scooted a bit closer to Thor’s chest. “Good night,” the dancer whispered. Thor repeated it back to him, pressing his nose into the back of Loki’s shoulder blades.

 

When he woke in the morning, Thor felt more refreshed than he remembered ever feeling in his life. Despite the drinking, of course.  _ I guess sleeping with another person really does improve your mood the next morning like that psych class said _ , Thor thought. Loki had turned around in his sleep, now facing Thor and pinning his head under Thor’s chin, their arms and legs now tangled and contorted beyond separation. He smiled and pressed a kiss to the crown of Loki’s head, immediately hearing a quiet, “Don’t.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Don’t with the cute shit.”

 

“You’re the one who turned around in his sleep and creeped closer. Usually my bedmates steal the covers, not my own body heat,” Thor chuckled, squeezing Loki tighter.

 

“Ugh,” Loki groaned, pushing away from Thor’s chest. “I feel too shitty to let you do anything tender like that.”  _ Well, that makes only one of us waking up in a good mood. _

 

“Now who needs to pregame with protein for literally any activity while hungover?” The wrestler teased, butting a fist gently into Loki’s arm. “I’ll make a light breakfast, if you want.”

 

“That’s the last thing I want. Let’s make a greasy, heavy breakfast,” Loki countered, incredulous that Thor would ever consider a hangover cure  _ not  _ to be greasy and disgusting.

 

After they’d cooked, eaten, and cleaned up, Loki looked at the clock for the first time. “Shit, I should probably go. I’ve got work to do, practice tonight, and some roommates I need to make up to,” the dancer huffed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Thanks again, Odinson.”

 

“Man, we’re back to nicknames now?” Thor whined, helping Loki gather his things and giving them to him.

 

“Want me to mix it up and make it pet names?” Loki joked, but Thor wasn’t sure he’d actually mind if Loki did. “All right, I’m out of here.” The thanks Loki meant to say hung in the air, but Thor couldn’t find it in himself to care. It was enough. Loki was enough.

 

~

 

“All right, class. We’re beginning our Yoga unit, so grab a mat and everybody face your TA,” Dr. Jones announced as soon as the clock hit nine. Thor was actually excited for the instruction today, since he’d worked out pretty hard prior to class with Peter, like he promised, who had shown up twenty minutes early out of sheer enthusiasm.

 

“Loki will be leading today’s class, so I’ll be handing everything over to him now.” Dr. Jones said, extending an open hand for Loki to come front and center, while Dr. Jones stepped to the side and gathered her bag and stood by the doorway to observe for a time.

 

“Today, we’ll be doing some beginner Hatha Yoga,” Loki began. “We’ll do this for about fifty minutes, and then you guys will be free to go. Next class will be focused on giving you a taste of more difficult styles of yoga. Any questions so far?” No one dared raise their hand. They were still scared of Loki, knowing he was tough to please and expected a lot of them. “Good. Let’s get started.” A few minutes in, Dr. Jones left, seeming to approve of the direction taken by her teaching assistant.

 

Cycling through many different poses, Loki always kept his voice even and instruction easy to interpret, and Thor found himself really enjoying the whole atmosphere of yoga. The gentle music, the gentle voice, the decidedly not gentle man leading it. Still, his heart rate was still high from his workout prior to class and his body still gleamed and glistened with sweat. Thor wouldn’t admit it out of respect, but he knew that this caught Loki’s attention several times throughout the class. When he walked around to survey everyone’s downward dog, he spent extra time behind Thor, who was thankful there wasn’t a yardstick in sight, just in case he flubbed some simple yoga.

 

When class had ended, Thor was almost disappointed. He felt so relaxed and his muscles felt adequately stretched. It’d been years since he felt so rested and happy after a workout. Students began to sleepily trail out when Loki calmly announced their conclusion. Thor swore he heard one student snore, but it wasn’t like he could blame them. If he didn’t feel motivated by watching the dancer’s muscles flex and flutter in the front of the class, he might’ve been lulled to sleep by his sweet voice.

 

“Thor, stay back, please.” Loki requested of Thor in front of the class, snapping Thor out of his trance. “Dr. Jones wanted me to talk with you about how often you need to be implementing the material you learn in class.” The blonde nodded, leaning his weight on one hip since he anticipated a longer than average conversation about this.

 

“Essentially, she wants to know you’ve been doing what we do in class even after your typical workouts. Not just the ones you do before you come here and we guide you. So, here,” Loki offered Thor a checklist. “She made this for you to help you keep track of your exercises and what you should do according to the areas you focused on in your workouts. It’s honestly pretty helpful and I’m stealing a copy, but this one’s yours, at least. Turn it in every three weeks and she’ll give you a point of extra credit each time. The rubric is posted online for it.”

 

“Good deal, I’ll do it. I mean, I already was.” He chuckled, realizing how inauthentic and dismissive he sounded. “I will. Thank you,” Thor concluded. “Business aside, do you maybe want to grab dinner tomorrow night?” His eyes were hopeful, and Thor’s smile reflected the same optimism.

 

“Are you buying?” The dancer quickly asked, more to test Thor than to actually make him pay for the meal. 

 

“I will if you say yes,” his voice pitched upwards and he grinned when he said this, feeling his chances slipping.

 

“Sure, but I have practice until seven on Tuesdays,” Loki shrugged, watching Thor’s face light up like a firework. He tried to hide his own smile. This bumbling idiot was too easy to please, and it was honestly pretty adorable. Loki would be lying if he said it didn’t make being a withholding little shit more fun, though.

 

“That’s fine, I have a class that runs until like five anyway. I’ll pick you up at the studio?”

 

“Good enough for me. Means I won’t have to walk in sharp pain for over a mile, so I’m game.”

 

“See you tomorrow night, cheer team.”

 

Loki chuckled, “Right back at you, wrestling team.”

 

~

 

Thor pulled up to the studio a little after seven, expecting Loki to be right outside. He felt like he was later than just by a few minutes, seeing no one else in the parking lot. Instead of sitting around, he decided to park and then walk into the studio to make sure Loki didn’t leave without him or practice let out early and the dancer resolved to not getting dinner with him. In one room, he heard the heavy repetitions of, “And one, two, three…” 

 

As he began walking in the direction of where the accented voice came from, Thor heard the voice shout, “No! Wrong, again,” followed by a sharp smacking sound and an even sharper gasp that was quickly stifled.

 

Heart beating fast, Thor felt like he was listening in on something he never should have heard. Still, he couldn’t resist leaning his head slowly into the doorway to see what was going on. Whatever it was, he couldn’t stand the sounds. Using the many mirrors of the studio, the blonde angled himself so that he could see what was transpiring without peeking his head into the room.

 

He found Loki, hair in an immaculate sock bun, higher on his toes and with a back straighter than anything he’d seen in the previous week’s performance. But he didn’t look as relaxed and lost in the movements as he did on stage. Coach Farbauti was circling him with a yardstick as she chanted numbers, intermittently using the hardened wood to smack the dancer’s wrists and ankles whenever he wasn’t perfectly en pointe or his hand movements weren’t smooth enough. Farbauti harshly criticized him almost every other movement of the leg or hand.

 

Looking closer and nearly shaking in anger, Thor saw familiar red welts from when he had massaged Loki’s foot, but now all over his pale skin. Though whenever he was struck, Loki almost never reacted. The most he would show pain would be abruptly shutting his eyes and pressing his lips into a tight line, then he would let out a harsh breath and try again. Watching the entire exchange made Thor clench his jaw, and he unconsciously leaned further into the studio. During one long movement across the room, Loki spotted Thor peeking into the studio, and immediately steeled his features in a way chillier than he’d ever seen before. 

 

Farbauti’s eyes followed Loki’s, seeing the change in expression, and spotted Thor: “I’m guessing this is your latest victim, Mr. Laufeyson? The one you’ve been cavorting about with?” Farbauti stated, condescension dripping in her tone. “Pathetic.” 

 

Horror was evident on Loki’s features, mortified that his coach had noticed Thor, too, and identified him as such. 

 

“Get out. You’re clearly not going to get any better tonight, especially now that your latest conquest has arrived. We’ll pick up on this on Thursday’s private lesson.” Farbauti spat, grabbing her purse and dropping the yardstick in an umbrella holder near the door of the studio, brushing past Thor.

 

Loki doesn’t say a thing, even after they both hear the front door of the studio shut loudly. He doesn’t even look at Thor when he walks on the flats of his feet to his duffel bag, digging out his white adidas and roughly kicking off his ballet shoes with a tight jaw and accompanying grimace.

 

“Loki…” Thor began softly, desperate for the raven-haired dancer to say at least  _ something _ , lest it be an insult.

 

“Why the fuck did you have to walk in?” The icy glare that Loki gave Thor the second he turned around could have turned him to stone. Thor felt infuriated, terrified, and apologetic all at the same time, watching Loki’s eyes glaze over with tears that would soon paint his cheeks.

 

“You didn’t come out when I drove up—”

 

“Not an excuse. This was a private interaction, and you had no right to come in here,” the dancer spat, all but growling at the wrestler.

 

“I’m so sorry, Loki,” he plead, taking a couple hesitant steps towards Loki. Tears ran down the brunette’s face and he just kept staring at Thor as he closed the gap and slowly put his arms around the other man. “I’m sorry.” Thor repeated, but Loki was beginning to wonder if Thor was apologizing for something other than snooping, which only served to make Loki cry harder and bring his arms between the two of them to cover his face. Thor was apologizing that Loki was being beaten.

 

Letting out a shaky breath, Loki resolved himself to stop crying and relaxed in Thor’s embrace as he calmed down. “How long has this been going on?” Thor did his best to ask gently.

 

“Almost always,” he murmured stoically, as if it was of no consequence. And at this point, it barely was to him. “She’s not the first person, either, so naturally when she figured out that this made me shape up, she was all too happy to implement it,” Loki laughed morosely. “But she’s from Den Norske Ballett og Opera and extremely highly regarded as a teacher who can bring Phoenixes out of ash and dust in children, so her methods don’t surprise me.”

 

“You act like this isn’t a big deal,” Thor pulled away, looking at Loki incredulously. 

 

“It isn’t. This has been going on for years, and I’ll be getting away from it when I graduate in the spring. It’s too late to bother with.” He shrugged casually.

 

“We could tell Dean Laufey, perhaps,” the blonde offered, not sure if this was going to be the right solution or not, since he wasn’t sure of Loki’s family dynamics, and was made even more uncertain when the dancer chuckled.

 

“Yes, let’s tell the man who beat me that a woman now beats me in his place in an effort to stop said beatings. That’ll do me some good,” he sighed shakily. “But really, no, Laufey couldn’t care less.” Thor was put off by how he didn’t even refer to the man as his father, but only by name.

 

“We’ll figure something out,” Thor decided, more for himself and his sense of justice since Loki appeared to have no will to change it.

 

“Sure, whatever ends this conversation,” Loki took a couple steps back out of Thor’s arms, bending down to grab his bag and throw it over his shoulder. Thor just stared at him, face painted with confusion. “Look, you’re forgiven. So long as we can have a normal night,” he groaned, trying to bring levity back to their suddenly too serious interactions. This was the second time this week they’d had a discussion about feelings. Namely  _ Loki’s _ feelings and shitty life.

 

“I’ll meet you in the middle with a ‘let’s get takeout and watch a terrible romcom instead’ night?”  Thor offered an optimistic smile, which Loki hesitantly met. 

 

“Deal,” he responded, clapping Thor on the shoulder.

 

“And I won’t bring this up again, at least tonight,” he added. Then in a reference to their early Sunday morning: “I’ll be good.”

 

Loki and Thor exited the ballet studio and hopped into Thor’s car, playfully arguing over where in their shitty college town had the best takeout. An honest man would have conceded nowhere, but the ballerina and wrestler refused to concede for the sake of how much it made them laugh to debate the merits of soggy tofu versus day-old fried chicken on even older waffles. They gave up and decided to call in a pizza to pick up from a spot close to Thor’s apartment, meaning neither of them won. In all honesty, neither of them seemed to care. The debate ended in laughter and passionate kisses and cold pizza and none of it even mattered.

 

When they arrived back to Thor’s one-bedroom, the blonde flicked the oven on to reheat their pizza while Loki jumped for the remote and to find something equally absurdly comical for them to watch for the night. Scrolling through the listings, Loki found ‘She’s the Man’ only a third of the way through and decided that this is what they were going to watch, whether Thor liked it or not, since Thor picked the pizza toppings and Loki paid. This inspired a huge grin and shrug from the blonde, who leaned over the couch to wrap his arms around Loki’s neck and kiss him wetly on the cheek.

 

He could have stayed like this forever. Loki didn’t want anything else other than a teddy bear, feminist of a man being obnoxiously, needlessly affectionate and he couldn’t help but love it. Pretending to hate the kiss, Loki tried incessantly to pull his face away, making gagging sounds that only served to encourage Thor more and would eventually just give way to Loki giggling madly like the way Thor saw him at that one party weeks ago. It was now Thor’s turn to gaze longingly at Loki, wondering where someone this interesting and dynamic was all of his life, and what in the world could he do to keep him.

 

Somewhere between eating warm-again pizza and finishing ‘She’s the Man’, Thor and Loki got carried away in their low-key movie night and were decidedly not going to wear any clothes for the rest of the night as they watched Chopped. They took off an article of clothing whenever someone forgot an ingredient, Scott complained about red onions, Aaron unintentionally corrected the pronunciation of a Spanish-named item, or Alex was simultaneously bitchy and the sweetest woman in existence. It was less than an episode before they were both in their underwear, and Thor marveled at being able to see Loki’s body up close once more.

 

“Gods, you really are so gorgeous,” Thor sighed, pulling Loki by the waist into his lap, which the dancer quickly obliged. The wrestler’s large hands travelled over taut arms, strong core, and impressively strong shoulders, marveling at how differently and similarly they were built at the same time.

 

“I know.” Loki smirked, then struggled not to laugh at Thor’s dumbstruck face, uncertain of what more the blonde could say. “But I’m lucky that you’re certainly a sight for sore eyes, too, wrestling team.”

 

“I’ll never get away from that, will I?”

 

“Not while I’m around,” Loki grinned wolfishly, leaning down and kissing up Thor’s neck messily, sucking and biting in succession. 

 

“Then I hope you stay around for a long time,” the blonde said softly, almost wishing he said it quieter or not aloud at all for how mushy it came out. He was even more uneasy when Loki leaned back from his neck to look at him, only to be met with a tender and affectionate expression. The dancer clung tighter to Thor, pressing them together tightly and kissing the blonde as if he was the most precious belonging he’d ever gotten the chance to hold, who responded in kind by wrapping arms around his shoulders and pulling Loki closer. “You sap,” Loki sighed when they pulled away, Thor chuckled.

 

“But really,” Thor started, gently pushing Loki back to look him up and down, “Wow.”

 

“High reps, low intensity,” the dancer winked. It was almost like a catch phrase. Like ‘it’s not that deep’ or any of Thor’s many nicknames. He was beginning to love it, and he felt silly for thinking so when it had only been three weeks since he’d met the raven-haired creature.

 

“Not so bad yourself, though,” Loki added, moving his hands to squeeze the blonde’s bicep, jaw tightening in arousal when he realized the sheer lack of give in the wrestler’s muscles. He had the unreasonably strong urge to bite them. And Thor. Everywhere. As if reading his mind, Thor practically jumped Loki, pushing him off of his lap and onto the couch, kissing roughly. Rough treatment only served to arouse Loki further and he playfully bit Thor’s bottom lip in the kiss, earning a moan from the blonde. 

 

Not wearing any clothes made what came next pretty easy. Thor and Loki peeled off their underwear, hands immediately grasping one another’s cock and pressing mouths tight and hot against one another. Their moans mingled between their bodies and Loki eventually got Thor on his back on the couch, slicking up his fingers with his mouth, sucking them seductively while hovering over Thor. The blonde bit his lip, yearning for whatever it was Loki was preparing himself for. 

 

He was surprised when the slick fingers prodded his own entrance, however, and Loki looked down at him and asked, “Is this okay?” Thor nodded, despite not usually being on this end of the finger fucking, but always one for new experiences. He did his best to continue pumping Loki’s cock despite being tragically distracted by other pleasures. After long enough with a single intruding finger, Thor begged Loki for another, which the dancer all too happily obliged, now placing a hand on the other man’s cock and beginning to pump it in rhythm with how he fingered Thor. 

 

With a guttural moan, Loki quickly realized he’d found that perfect spot within Thor, and continued to slowly, teasingly prod at it. Thor used his free hand to grab Loki’s wrist and squeeze it in warning that if he did not go faster, the blonde may very well go mad. Loki chuckled and sped up, hitting that spot every single time and jacking off Thor at the same time until he wrung out another intense orgasm from the wrestler, riding the waves of his pleasure with soft groans of Loki’s name.

 

Still painfully hard, Loki began to jack himself off to the beautiful, spent, naked visage of Thor below him before Thor knocked the dancer’s wrist away. 

 

“Ah, ah. I still haven’t gotten you off and we’re 2 for 0 right now. I don’t like it,” he grinned, taking Loki in hand and pumping him shallowly before finishing the dancer off in his mouth, sucking and pulling off and swallowing the other man’s cock fast and hard, quickly bringing about his orgasm with a whimper.

 

“Mm, keeping score seems to work in my favor. Let’s keep that up,” Loki chuckled, still breathing hard. 

 

“It’s not that deep,” Thor grinned at the dancer, making him roll his eyes dramatically.

 

The night drug on and the two fell asleep on the couch to reruns of Good Eats with Loki comfortably nestled inside of Thor’s arms. It was easily the best date and night in general that Thor’d had in years. He couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun with a person, both inside and outside of the sack. If this could continue forever, he’d be good with that.

 

~

 

Wednesday was Yoga Part 2 in Kinesiology 130 and Thor couldn’t be happier that morning, walking into class with Loki after the man had slept over for the second time and smiling widely. The both of them had almost forgotten that whatever they were doing technically constituted a conflict of interest. Though Dr. Jones did look upon them warily and stayed in class the entire time to observe. Thor chalked this up to Dr. Jones needed to do an evaluation of Loki as a teaching assistant and part-time instructor, so when class ended and she stuck around, speaking intently with Loki, Thor decided a wave goodbye would suffice and he’d probably see Loki that weekend. 

 

When the weekend arrived and Thor attempted to text Loki to hang out, he didn’t receive a response, though the bubble that he was typing did pop up several times throughout the weekend. Not that Thor was looking. Or worried. Or maybe a little scared. He also didn’t see Loki at the bar they usually hung out at, or heard about him going to any parties over the weekend.

 

Monday came still with no response, and the blonde was worried that maybe he had done something wrong or scared Loki off. He would find out soon enough in class. 

 

As usual, when Thor walked in, he found Loki sitting on the ground, checking off students who walked in. He walked up to the dancer uneasily, “Hey,” he initiated plainly.

 

Loki looked up, lips pressed into a thin line, “I have to talk to you after class.”

 

Thor’s heart began beating out of his chest and he began running through every possible scenario as to why they would need to talk and why it sounded so serious. All of the scenarios returned bad outcomes. Thor nodded silently and took his place in the room, waiting anxiously for class to end before it even started. Yoga Part 3 wasn’t any fun this time since Dr. Jones had taken over and Loki was stuck entering scores into the gradebook.

 

Finally, the hour and fifteen minutes allotted for their class had ended. When Dr. Jones concluded, she waited until the other students left, leaving only her, Loki, and Thor. She met Loki’s eyes, giving him a curt nod, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her. Thor was pretty sure he was about to have a panic attack and did his best to breathe. He had no idea what was wrong with Loki, if he did something to hurt the man, if Farbauti was being exceptionally horrible to him, or if even Laufey was being harsh with Loki. There was a myriad of things that worried Thor about Loki’s life, and none of them could have prepared him for the conversation they would have to have. Loki took a deep breath as Thor approached, as if readying himself for something big.

 

“Farbauti knew about us and reported it to Laufey. Which, ordinarily, I wouldn’t care about. But he figured out you were my student and I guess this was his final straw with me. Him, Dr. Jones, and Farbauti apparently had a long discussion last Thursday and conceded that if we don’t end this, then I really will be kicked off the team. For good.” Loki couldn’t meet Thor’s eyes. “I have to choose the team.” He stated matter of factly. Thor just continued to listen.

 

“If I get kicked off, my scholarship will be revoked. And it’s the only way I’m staying away from Laufey and not living under his roof, since, of course, my tuition is waived being that we’re related.” Loki all but spat the word ‘related’, clearly pissed off by the dean’s meddling, even if it was warranted, much to both men’s chagrin. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Thor responded. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, he couldn’t even look at Loki. It was his fault that Loki could have to move back in with his abusive father, that he could lose his scholarship and his home and everything he had worked so hard for since he was only four. Thor detested himself for allowing this to happen, and his eyes reddened and threatened to spill tears. “I didn’t mean for any of this. Fuck. Loki, I’m so sorry.”

 

Loki just looked upon him sadly, not bothering to try and hide his displeasure and disappointment. But he didn’t take another step closer or make any motions to comfort the other, lest someone be watching them. “You didn’t know what could happen,” Loki said softly, forcing a weak smile. “But I did.”

 

Thor looked up, furrowing his brow in confusion, meeting Loki’s eyes with his own watering ones for the first time the entire conversation. “I knew and I did it anyway,” Loki added, laughing bitterly. He didn’t want to give Thor any false hopes, so he didn’t add why. Though the reasoning hovered over them like a heavy smog, trapped in their lungs. He was falling for Thor. And Thor knew he was falling for Loki, too.

 

“It’s going to have to be business as usual from now on between us,” the dancer sighed. “I’m happy to let you know about future shows and be an asset in class, but we can’t really talk or see each other outside of those parameters.” 

 

Thor’s lungs felt like they were filled with water and he could drown. “Okay,” he managed to choke out. “I can do that. Whatever you need.”  _ Whatever you need, just tell me, and I’ll do it in an instant _ , he wanted to say. Just tell me.

 

“I know, Thor,” Loki said, as if knowing exactly what Thor wanted to say, smiling sympathetically. He grabbed his bag in an effort not to prolong the conversation any more than they had to. “I think I should go now. No telling when the xanax is gonna stop working and I break down on the sidewalk, so…” 

 

“Yeah, of course. Don’t worry about it,” Thor forced a smile, knowing how horribly inauthentic it was. He watched Loki leave. This time, it wasn’t with the same candor and excitement as it always had been before. This time, he was genuinely sad to see Loki go. He felt like he’d lost the man for good.

 

The next weeks in class were horribly casual and nothing short of caustic reminders of what once was. Months passed and things were still ‘business as usual’ between the team captains. Longing glances were snuck by both parties, but neither caught the other and began to assume that it really was over though that was the last thing either of them wanted. There were several weeks where Thor came into class injured, either with some sort of brace or on crutches for the ninth time. But still less often in a season than he would usually. He wanted desperately for Loki to look at him and roll his eyes and tease him about not doing the stretches they talked about, but the goading never came. Business as usual.

 

Finals week was at last upon them, and their final project was to create a thirty-minute regimen based on what they had learned in class and present it to either Dr. Jones or Loki. In order to ease his and hopefully even Loki’s suffering, Thor tried to schedule his with Dr. Jones. But with the competitive wrestling season in their own finals, Thor struggled to find a time that worked with her. After several days of email tag, Dr. Jones conceded and told him it may be better if he schedules his final with Loki instead. Receiving this email, Thor frowned, but then emailed Loki on his school email instead of texting him.

 

To:  [ llaufeyson@uasgard.edu ](mailto:llaufeyson@uasgard.edu) @ 11:23 AM

Loki,   
Dr. Jones notified me that I should schedule my final with you since the wrestling season has made it difficult to schedule with her. Let me know if any time between today and next Friday work, so long as they are between 10 am and 2 pm.

Cheers,

Thor

 

Within minutes, as always, Loki responded.

 

To:  [ todinson@uasgard.du ](mailto:todinson@uasgard.du) @ 11:25 AM

Thor,

It’d be my pleasure. Let’s do next Tuesday at 1.

Loki

 

Well, this would probably go horribly, Thor resolved himself to think. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter so much, honestly. I need to write more angst and fluff because jfc I was so happy writing these scenes. I hope you guys like them! 
> 
> Big time smut will come in the next chapter, so stay tuned. It’s not over yet. ;) I’m also not for a total bottom Loki (which might be becoming apparent in my fics as a running theme so far), so forgive me that. 
> 
> Also, I know that Peter probably should’ve been a ballerina seeing as Tom Holland did ballet, but I couldn’t pass up writing a starstruck Peter who looks up to Thor since he’d be so much more of a teddy bear about it than Loki would.
> 
> Brighton's ["Forest Fire"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBqzXYcSdns) inspired some parts of this fic, specifically the part in the ballet studio and the very end.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why did you get involved?” The dancer sounded rough, aggressive, and altogether defensive.
> 
> “Sorry?” Thor nearly lost his balance on an exercise, but finished it and planted his feet solidly on the floor, looking at Loki with eyebrows furrowed. 
> 
> “Who do you think suffers when you tell your coach that mine beats me?” The dancer bit at him, tone dripping in venom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll put the music I listened to writing this at the beginning of this chapter (in a fitting order) just in case you guys want to listen to it. :)
> 
> [Billie Eilish - “Lovely (with Khalid)”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Pl8CzNzCw)  
> [Brighton - “Forest Fire”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBqzXYcSdns)  
> [Saint Motel - "Sweet Talk"](https://youtu.be/ygmZ8hZPix8)  
> [Fitz and the Tantrums - “Complicated”](https://youtu.be/cJPTLAKq2Ck)  
> [Natalia Kills - “Problem”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrZI6OmezE)  
> [Madonna - “Die Another Day”](https://youtu.be/VlbaJA7aO9M) (Which alternatively would fit with canon too lol)

It was already difficult enough with the months rolling by, Thor still falling hard for Loki. They didn’t need to talk like they used to. He kept it together with their distance. No whispers too close to his ear, no caresses nor foot massages, no hanging out at Thor’s apartment. He occasionally saw Loki out at their usual bar for drinks night, but the two shared nothing more than a glance and small smile. The dancer had even stopped being the shot boy at bars and parties, to Thor’s disappointment. But now, having to do his final with Loki would undo him. They’d be forced in a room alone for thirty minutes while Thor demonstrated what he learned in the course that cosmically but tragically brought them together in the first place.

 

They had five days until Thor’s final. He’d been prepared to do it for weeks, now, seeing as he so actively needed to implement the class’ curriculum into his workouts and wrestling activities to reduce his injuries. And he did lower the number of injuries per season notably thanks to Loki and Dr. Jones. Still, Coach Fury had noticed a light go out in Thor. While he was still at his best in the ring, their team captain lacked some of the morale they once had. Knowing the kid for more than four years had its perks: Thor was professional and considerate enough to know how his personal life could impact the team, so he hid his feelings in the limelight. Still, anyone that knew him could tell he was constantly mulling over things.

 

That Thursday after practice, Coach Fury asked Thor to stick around and talk about new strategies. Or so that’s what he said in front of the rest of the team. Thor knew the conversation was coming one way or another, and he already felt like he was overflowing.

 

“Odinson, we both know why we’re talking, and you know that I care about your well-being just as much as your stats, if not much more than the numbers,” Nick stated, his hard gaze boring into the blonde.

 

_ No lies so far _ , Thor thought. Fury had always acted like a father figure when sometimes it felt like he grew up without one, Thor’s father always busy being a multimillionaire mogul. Him and his mother were always married, but they considered themselves “separated” as soon as Thor moved to college. They were permitted to date other people, which always got his mother into more trouble than not. So having Fury in his life when he got into college, Thor was relieved. 

 

Interrupting Thor from his thoughts, he suddenly heard: “So what the  _ fuck _ is going on?” Anyone else would be petrified, but Thor knew that expletives just served as punctuation for Coach Fury.

 

“I got mixed up with the ballet team captain.”

 

“Yeah, so?” Fury knitted his brows together, crossing his arms. He could sense a story coming.

 

“He’s my TA for the class you made me take. And we sort of began dating and didn’t do anything to hide it. Coach Farbauti figured it out, told Dean Laufey, and then talked with Dr. Jones to make Loki pick between the team, his scholarship, and staying out of his abusive father’s home over me. Which, obviously, he made the right decision. It just sucks,” Thor’s voice fluctuated from normal to impassioned to barely a mumble. “Especially since if Loki quit ballet, he’d have to move back in with his father. But then, if he stays there, he’s getting beaten for every mistake by Coach Farbauti…”

 

“I’m sorry, he’s getting fucking what by Farbauti?”

 

_ Shit _ , Thor thought,  _ this probably was not the time, place, nor person to talk about this with _ . Still, his only option was to continue because Fury would only keep digging if he tried to take it back. “Farbauti whacks him with a yardstick. Sometimes I’ve seen bruises. Usually I just see how bad they look immediately after.”

 

“And have you seen her do this, or the ballet captain just told you?” Fury tilted his head in disbelief, knowing that students could make up awful things when they didn’t get their way. And that Loki probably wasn’t much different from any other spoiled rich kid.

 

“I saw it. And so have other ballerinas in the company. Or they at least know it’s something that happens,” Thor continued nervously, mindlessly picking at his fingers.

 

“Thank you for mentioning this, Thor. I hope you know that I do have to take this to the Athletic Director,” Fury sighed, rubbing his good eye with a hand exasperatedly. “Mother fucker.” If Thor saw it, then obviously this happens. Perhaps a lot. Feels like a long evening of paperwork and emails coming on for Coach Fury.

 

“Honestly, it’s a wonder I’ve kept it in this long, Coach,” Thor laughed bitterly. “I hope there’s something you guys can do. I’m happy to help in any way I can, and offer the name of a ballerina who is aware of the situation,” he added, looking almost as if someone had lit a fire in his eyes. Fury flashed a small smile, this looked more like the Thor he knew. Not quite there, but at least hopeful.

 

“Thank you, Coach.”

 

“Don’t mention it, Odinson,” he nodded. “Really, don’t mention this to anyone else. Until the investigation is over. Give me that other ballerina’s name, too.” Thor quickly complied, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off of him. And that perhaps, he could really help Loki and anyone else receiving the same treatment as him. 

 

Thor had been troubled for months by the memory of Farbauti criticizing and hitting Loki in the studio, knowing that every time Loki went to practice on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday (not that he memorized the dancer’s schedule), he could be in pain. Pain that he had no idea how to stop. He had felt so hopeless until now. But even now, he had no idea what kind of consequences his little Freudian slip could cause and he worried.

 

~

 

Thor shows up early to the strength-stretching room one last time for his final, only to find Loki already in the room, leaning picturesquely on the wall. He looks like a model, Thor thinks. And it pains him. Thin but muscular legs in dark jeans with an emerald green top that Thor thinks is definitely three inches too short to be any normal t-shirt. 

 

“Ready?” Loki inquires, tone even despite noticing Thor’s gaze.

 

“Yeah, sure. More ready than I could ever be,” the blonde shrugs. Loki waves a hand as if to indicate that he should get started. He barely moves from the wall so Thor walks in front of him to begin. It’s easier than he expects, feeling almost as if he is in his own world until he is roused by question in the middle of his routine:

 

“Why did you get involved?” The dancer sounded rough, aggressive, and altogether defensive.

 

“Sorry?” Thor nearly lost his balance on an exercise, but finished it and planted his feet solidly on the floor, looking at Loki with eyebrows furrowed. 

 

“Who do you think suffers when you tell your coach that mine beats me?” The dancer bit at him, tone dripping in venom. 

 

“Loki,” Thor started, and Loki extended a single index finger to silence him.

 

“My turn.” He stated simply, then lowered the hand, taking a deep sigh. “The team is in shambles, Thor. It’s a scandal with me in the middle, and now we’re without a coach in the middle of our last competitions.” 

 

“Coach Farbauti is gone?” Thor blinked, surprised at how quickly things had turned. He wasn’t nearly as worried about the scandal, since he knew Loki thrived beautifully in such conflicts and had a knack for weaseling out of consequences and mending circumstances to work in his favor.

 

“Yes, but that’s not the point, Thor,” Loki huffed. “The team has elected me to lead them in the interim.” 

 

Thor struggles to see how this is a bad thing when it’s everything Loki has ever deserved. “You single handedly brought down a renowned, asshole of a coach because you accidentally admitted your season sucked because you were worried about me to Fury,” he laughed caustically, and Thor found himself frowning since his season wasn’t  _ that _ bad. “Gods, Thor.” Loki put his face in his hands, taking a deep breath followed by a wet sniffle. He looks up after quickly wiping his face, “You can be such an idiot sometimes, but you somehow gave me everything I wanted by entering my life and letting me fall for you so hard that I nearly lost it all.” Finally meeting Thor’s eyes, Loki smiled softly, his arms crossing over his chest now. 

 

Torn between frowning and grinning in this myriad of emotions, Thor reflected the same soft smile back at Loki. He didn’t really have anything to say, but the overflow of emotions caused him to choke out a laugh that somehow managed to trigger something deeper in him. His eyes watered and the blonde raked a hand through his hair and pulled it into a messy bun. Loki had admitted he still liked Thor, and that he was falling, too. And that he had actually done the right thing when all Thor did the entire weekend was worry even more that Loki could be landed in the hospital and seriously injured in retaliation for Coach Fury’s intervention. “I’m sorry,” was all he could say. He didn’t quite know why, but he still felt at fault for everything that happened in the semester. 

 

“Sure you are, but don’t be,” Loki chuckled, though still with restraint, as if he was nervous he, too, might break at any second. The two locked eyes, yearning evident but still not able to be fulfilled. They didn’t speak of it, and knew what they had to do.

 

“Stick it out,” Loki said, meaning to change subjects but the statement fittingly completed Thor’s thoughts. When Thor didn’t move, the dancer added: “Come on now, finish this up.”

 

The wrestler nodded and smiled to himself, continuing where he left off in his routine. In his own head, but giddy now, knowing there wasn’t much time left. As quickly as it began, Thor finished the regimen and looked up at Loki expectantly, who was writing on a clipboard. His pen flicked and hovered over several sections, adding up his scores on each part of the final on the spot: “Yeah, at least an A. You’re good, wrestling team. Get out and I’ll see you soon,” the dancer smirked. Thor couldn’t help but grin back brightly at what Loki said.

 

“Sounds good to me,” he let out a long sigh that he felt had been caught in his chest since the last time Loki and him had a discussion like this. “I’ll see you,” Thor nodded, still trying to be ‘business as usual,’ though they knew it wouldn’t be like this for long. Thor grabbed his wallet from the floor and stuffed it into his sweatpants, grinning giddily and waving at Loki as he walked out. Loki only shook his head, smiling softly.

 

~

 

Three painstaking days later, Thor was sitting outside the ring after his several consecutive, no contest wins. He changed out of his uniform into a maroon hoodie with a worn green khaki bomber jacket over a pair of even more worn acid wash jeans. It was probably the most comfortable outfit he owned, especially when he wore his hair up, which was easily indicated by how battered it was. At least that was in style now, he absently mused.

 

After changing, Thor watched Fandral in his last match against Jotun University, dreamily staring off in the distance and absently clapping whenever Fandral got a point or advanced on his opponent. Thor felt a buzz on his phone, indicating a new email. With interest, the wrestler pulled out his phone and checked it, seeing it was from Dr. Jones declaring that final grades were up, making Thor’s stomach drop. At the same time, a buzzer rang to indicate Fandral’s win by a technical fall and cheers erupted everywhere in the home arena. Thor is the only one still sitting when Fandral looks up, so he shouts at Thor, “Yo, what gives!” But the blonde barely hears him as he gets up and leaves the gym complex in a light run.

 

Upon reaching the outdoors, Thor brought up a text from Natasha and plugged the coordinates into his GPS and all but ran the whole way to his destination. Thank the Gods for the conditioning Fury put him through.

 

Before he could knock, the door opened and he saw Loki, clad in dark jeans, a black button up, and black leather jacket accented by an emerald green scarf. Out of breath for more reasons than one, Thor just grinned, hands practically on his knees while he panted, barely getting out a “Hi,” before the dancer cupped a hand under his chin and brought him to full height. The two just stared at each other for a good moment before Thor took the reins of Loki’s scarf and pulled him in, barley brushing their lips together and letting his eyelids fall shut. The dancer smirked, closing the gap so slowly that he’s pretty sure he felt Thor short-circuit. 

 

When their lips finally met, neither of them could hold back much longer and pressed even closer, hands pulling and faces nuzzling. Thor cupped Loki’s jaw tenderly and kissed him deeply, his other hand firmly placed on the back of the dancer’s waist, making his back arch away. Loki sighed into the kiss, parting his lips to meet Thor’s with his tongue to deepen the kiss further, which was obliged happily with a groan.

 

At last, they parted, and Thor leaned back to look at Loki’s face, unable to contain his own wide grin. He could see the brightness in the dancer’s green eyes again and with his hand still cupping the other’s face, Thor couldn’t help but press his forehead to Loki’s and closing his eyes, whispering, “Gods, I love you so much.” The wrestler could almost cry, “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

 

Loki chuckled softly, responding back with a playful, “I know.” Which only served to make Thor grin larger and tilt his head, eyes still closed, to kiss Loki chastely. The other male pulled away this time, separating them by several inches to look into Thor’s deep blue eyes. “I love you, too, Thor,” he said softly, raising a hand to touch his face, tucking an escaped lock of hair behind Thor’s ear. “Thank you for everything, even if I wasn’t the easiest.”

 

“Don’t mention it, really, it all made sense in the end.”

 

“But not all the while, which I’m sorry for.”

 

“It did, but it was hard not knowing whether you still felt the same way when I knew I would,” Thor shrugged, eager to forget the past now that he was getting everything he wanted.

 

“I always did,” Loki forced Thor to look at him seriously by holding both sides of his face, then when Thor did he dropped one hand to the back of his neck in a reflection of how Thor often held Loki. “I thought it would be easier if we acted like it didn’t ever happen, as stupid as that was. But I never stopped feeling that way about you. Your dumb ass just never caught me staring longingly,” the dancer laughed lightly. 

 

“Guess my dumb ass didn’t, but this dumbass is definitely yours now,” he winked, making Loki groan.

 

“Where’s my return receipt? I don’t want it,” the dancer actually laughed this time, causing Thor by reflex to pull him close and kiss the other male passionately.

 

“You don’t get one, and you’re stuck with me,” Thor added, punctuating the end of the sentence with a kiss to the tip of Loki’s nose, which was returned with a scowl.

 

“Can you just come inside before I get the cops called on me for your public indecency?” 

 

“Hey, I’m still clothed. For now.”

 

“You’re indecent in countless other ways, Thor,” Loki groused, pulling Thor by the neck of his hoodie into the apartment. “You’re lucky that my roommates and I are on good enough terms that they allowed me to kick them out as soon as I got Dr. Jones’ final grades email.”

 

“Guess I am…” Thor responded lowly, stalking Loki till the dancer’s back hit a wall. The blonde pressed his nose to Loki’s neck in an act of gentleness before attaching his lips to the soft flesh, sucking and biting in succession while one of his hands tangled in Loki’s silken tresses and the other planted firmly on the dancer’s sculpted hip. The dancer moaned in response, instinctively hiking a leg over the wrestler’s hip and rolling against it, desperate for friction.

 

“So, are you gonna let me take control this time or not?” Thor pulled back to hover over Loki’s ear, his breath ghosting hotly over the shell.

 

“Probably,” he chuckled, despite snaking a hand up Thor’s back sneakily enough to give a rough yank to his hair, resulting in a grunt that urged the blonde to buck his hips into Loki.

 

“Sounds too easy…” Thor murmured, the hand on Loki’s hip sneaking under his shirt to play with a nipple, softly but slowly becoming rougher.

 

“Because it is,” Loki scoffed, despite shuddering at the contact to his nipple. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?” Loki dug his heel into Thor’s hip as if to emphasize his rhetorical question.

 

“Do _ you _ ?” Thor echoed, just like the first time Loki sucked him off the ballet studio when Thor was concerned about propriety and the dancer only uttered a wry,  _ Can’t we? _

 

“ _ No _ , Odinson,” Loki sneered, leaning down to crush his lips against Thor’s and then bite his bottom lip while grinding his hip into the blonde’s crotch teasingly, earning him a soft groan from the myriad of intoxicating actions.

 

“Which one?” Thor pulled back to look up at the series of shut and ajar doors in the hallway, pulling the dancer’s other leg around his hips.

 

“Third,” Loki grunted as he was hoisted up and already felt himself being walked. Confident he wouldn’t fall, he ghosted his lips up a thick neck, licking the blonde’s pulsepoint and then sucking it with fervor. 

 

Thor fumbled with the door, finally getting it open with a swing, then caught the door with his foot and bumped it shut again using his and Loki’s entire body weights combined. The slam inspired an unexpected and breathy laugh from Loki, which Thor pulled back to look at with an awestruck smile. 

 

They stumbled to Loki’s bed together, kissing lovingly and grasping desperately. When Loki’s back landed against his pillows, he immediately felt Thor pin his arms above his head with a strong hand. The blonde momentarily looked over Loki’s face to check for panic or discomfort, but dove once more for a kiss-bruised pair of lips when all he saw was hungry veridian eyes. His other hand smoothed down Loki’s body tantalizingly, only to cup and grant friction to the dancer’s hardening cock.

 

“Fuck, Thor,” Loki moaned, canting his hips in desperation, only serving to make Thor teasingly remove the friction. “Patience,” the blonde smirked down at him.

 

“I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime. Take my fucking pants off, you oaf.”

 

“As you command,” he chuckled, deftly divesting Loki of his jeans and boxers to reveal a blushing, fully hard cock that Thor quickly pulled into his fingers, using some of the precum to lubricate. He let the head of Loki’s cock slip through the cracks in his fingers and then squeezed, causing the dancer to whimper and thrust up into Thor’s hand. 

 

“Gods, would you please prepare me?” The dancer huffed, truly prima donna, forcing Thor to press his lips into a tight line to keep from laughing again as he leaned over to the bedside table to grab the lube Loki had oh-so-handily left out for the occasion. 

  
“It means I’ll have to stop touching your gorgeous cock, though,” Thor leaned down, kissing Loki on the corner of his lips and down his face, earning him a low growl and gravelly, “Don’t care, just want you as fast as possible.”

 

“There’ll be plenty of time for that, cheer captain,” Thor grinned against the dancer’s neck, giving it a playful bite once more, then moving down his lithe, muscled body and slowly letting go of bruising wrists that now pushed Loki’s legs apart. Popping the cap of the lube and putting some on his fingers and using it to slicken up the dancer’s cock and begin pumping it once more, Thor dipped even lower and pressed his tongue against the tight ring of muscles below, testing the waters with an experimental lick from his hole to balls. Loki moaned, his free hands now coming down into the blonde’s hair as Thor slid his tongue inside him, earning a stunted gasp.

 

“Thor…” Loki murmured, his head falling back against his bed. He wanted to squirm or to buck his hips, rendered almost mindless by Thor’s ministrations, but the dancer didn’t want to break Thor’s concentration or any contact with the man. One free hand still planted on Loki’s flexing thigh, the blonde made sure he would have enough room once he slipped the hand from the dancer’s cock into his tight pucker, slowly pushing one finger in and watching Loki’s expression wistfully. The other nodded in approval, encouraging Thor to thrust the finger in and out, curling it experimentally and pulling soft moans from him. 

 

His tongue still slickening Loki’s anus, Thor was able to add another finger and continue to stretch the raven-haired ballerina further. After several more thrusts, Loki was shuddering and Thor had found his prostate. Loki tried to get Thor to pull off of him, saying, “Stop, stop. I’m gonna cum if you keep this up.”

 

“I can make you cum twice,” Thor blinked innocently up at Loki, who sighed dramatically and despite being very interested in multiple orgasms, had other plans. The blonde allowed himself to be pushed off and Loki used his weight and knowledge of body positioning to flip the two of them so that now Thor was on bottom.

 

“You’re far too clothed,” the dancer tsked, peeling off Thor’s many layers while the wrestler kicked off his own pants and boxers. The blonde expected they would change positions once more now that he was naked, but was only to be surprised by Loki picking up the forgotten lube and now slickening Thor’s cock. “Ready for this?” He grinned, once again sidling his thighs on either side of Thor’s, holding his cock. Thor nodded silently, eyes intently staring into his lover’s.

 

Loki allowed the head of Thor’s penis to slowly push into him, making them both groan when Thor was entirely sheathed inside of Loki. The dancer rode his cock, slowly but with a painfully consistent rhythm that made Thor yearn for more. In an attempt to provoke Loki to move faster, the blonde raked short nails over the dancer’s ass, who only looked down at him with a sexy smirk lean down to Thor’s ear: “Low intensity, high reps, wrestling team,” he purred, continuing to slowly bounce his ass on what felt like the mostly painfully hard erection the wrestler had ever sported.

 

“Please, move.” Thor requested, his breath quick but steady. 

 

“This is  _ all  _ I know,” he winked. “If you want something else, then you may have to do the honors,” Loki grinned wolfishly, continuing the painfully slow pace but adding in an errant hard and fast thrust that made them both moan wantonly. 

Feeling as though at this point there was too much talking for sex, Thor thrusted up into Loki impatiently, inspiring the same moans before the blonde took hold of his hips and urged him off. “On your knees,” Thor asked hoarsely, and the dancer quickly complied. The image of the ballerina spread, prepared on his knees with the finest gods damned ass he had ever seen made Thor feel like he could cum right there. Still, he slid into Loki with a hard thrust, causing a mingling of pleasured sounds as Thor set a rhythm of fast, rough thrusts.

 

“If this is high intensity, low reps, I’ll be sorely disappointed,” Loki bit out between thrusts and moans, pushing himself back on Thor for more friction. Thor only laughed, staggering his thrusts more to throw the dancer off, testing new angles until he found that spot once more that made Loki mewl. Several thrusts later, Loki lost his arms and was face down in the sheets, grasping at them above his head desperately, pillows chucked to either side of the room.

 

Thor slipped a hand under Loki while thrusting to pump his cock, causing the dancer to become even more pliant to his whims, which the wrestler served to pull Loki back up, flush against his chest and changing their angle. The dancer’s keening told him that he’d found the perfect angle and Thor kept Loki up with an arm against his chest and fingers lazily tweaking his nipples while the other hand began thrusting faster and faster.

 

As Loki’s moans pitched higher, then cut off completely, Thor watched the blissful expression on the side of the dancer’s face as cum spurted from his pretty cock. The whole image, followed by the clamping down of Loki’s insides on Thor made him cum shortly after with a long groan.

 

They both flopped down beside each other after they were spent, breathing erratically while Loki lie on his stomach and Thor beside him on his back. “I’m so happy you waited,” Loki shyly admitted, still catching his breath but now smiling at Thor. After turning over on his side to face Thor, he began tracing shapes absently into the blonde’s chest.

 

“There’s no world in which I wouldn’t wait for you, Loki.” He smiled sincerely, also turning his body and pressing forward until their foreheads met. They both closed their eyes and one sighed after the other in satisfaction, both planting a hand on the juncture between the other’s face and neck.

 

“Nor is there one where I wouldn’t,” Loki whispered back, closing the gap between their lips and kissing passionately. 

 

“I would never ask for more.”

 

“I might.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, well, that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought! Not as satisfied with this last chapter personally, but hopefully it came out all right.
> 
> Inspiring artwork [here](http://andlatitude.tumblr.com/post/167308110629/please-do-not-repost-to-other-sites) (Once again by the lovely andlatitude)  
> Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to continue writing fics like this, so definitely keep an eye out for me if you're partial to this lol. I greatly appreciate all of the comments, kudos, and bookmarks. It's lovely to know that someone out there is reading what I'm writing and liking it. <3
> 
> Also, reiterating that I am no expert when it comes to ballet or wrestling. Like at all. This was my best try and I poured all my love into this fic and really felt it. I'm sure there are some inaccuracies and I apologize for that, but I hope the writing speaks for itself in the love that I put into it. I'm just a dumb little self-indulgent gremlin out here for a good time lol.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked this! It was a lot of fun to write. Feedback is always appreciated. <3
> 
> Also, feel free to follow my [tumblr](https://www.eyrror.tumblr.com) if you want updates on new or continuing fics!


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